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The Ashen light is a glow observed on Venus somewhat similar to the phenomenon of Earthshine found on the Moon, though dimmer. It is a yellowish-brownish glow in appearance and has been observed in some large telescopes. Image File history File links Wiki_letter_w. ... Adjectives: Venusian or (rarely) Cytherean Atmosphere Surface pressure: 9. ... Leonardo da Vincis sketch of crescent Moon with earthshine as part of his Codex Leicester, written between 1506 and 1510. ... Apparent magnitude: up to -12. ... A telescope (from the Greek tele = far and skopein = to look or see; teleskopos = far-seeing) is an instrument designed for the observation of remote objects. ...

The ashen light was first observed by Giovanni Riccioli on 9 January 1643 and is believed to be an optical illusion by some astronomers, though others believe it to be caused by electrical storms in Venus's atmosphere. It may be the light from Venus's lit side spilling into its unlit side. It may also be that the huge amount of infrared radiation emitted because of Venus's greenhouse effect has caused a small percentage of it to convert to visible light. It may just be a distortion caused by relatively poor optics. The Ashen Light still remains mostly a mystery. Giovanni Battista Riccioli (April 17, 1598 – June 25, 1671) was an Italian astronomer. ... January 9 is the 9th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events January 21 - Abel Tasman discovers Tonga February 6 - Abel Tasman discovers the Fiji islands. ... An optical illusion is characterized by visually perceived images that, at least in common sense terms, are deceptive or misleading. ... An astronomer or astrophysicist is a scientist whose area of research is astronomy or astrophysics. ... A roll cloud associated with a heavy or severe thunderstorm over Enschede, The Netherlands. ... View of Jupiters active atmosphere, including the Great Red Spot. ... Image of two girls in mid-infrared (thermal) light (false color) Infrared (IR) radiation is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength longer than that of visible light, but shorter than that of radio waves. ... A schematic representation of the exchanges of energy between outer space, the Earths atmosphere, and the Earth surface. ... The optical spectrum (light or visible spectrum) is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye. ... A distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of an object, image, sound, waveform or other form of information or representation. ... Look up mystery in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

See also

• Earthshine
• Venus
• Distortion

Leonardo da Vincis sketch of crescent Moon with earthshine as part of his Codex Leicester, written between 1506 and 1510. ... Adjectives: Venusian or (rarely) Cytherean Atmosphere Surface pressure: 9. ... A distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of an object, image, sound, waveform or other form of information or representation. ...

References and external links

• Baum, R. M. (2000) The enigmatic ashen light of Venus: an overview, Journal of the British Astronomical Association, 110 325
• The Ashen Light, C. T. Russell and J. L. Phillips
• Encyclopedia of Astrobiology, Astronomy & Spaceflight; Venus, ashen light