Earthshine as an Illumination Source at the Moon

Abstract: Earthshine is the dominant source of natural illumination on the surface of the Moon during lunar night, and at some locations within permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) near the poles that never receive direct sunlight. As such, earthshine has the potential to enable the scientific investigation and exploration of conditions in areas of the Moon that are either temporarily or permanently hidden from the Sun. Earthshine has also been used to refer to Earthlight reflected from the lunar surfac…