A model of the brightness of moonlight

1991/09/01 by Kevin Krisciunas, K. Krisciunas, Bradley E. Schaefer · 170 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Brightness #Environmental science #Geodesy #Geology #Geophysics and Gravity Measurements #Historical Astronomy and Related Studies #Moonlight #Optics #Photometry (optics) #Physics #Remote sensing #Sky #Sky brightness #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #Zenith

paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/132921

published in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 103, 1033 (Institute of Physics)

openalex publication_date 1991/09/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30

Abstract

In this paper, measurements of the sky brightness from the 2800-m level of Mauna Kea are reported. In addition, a model is presented for predicting the moonlight as a function of the moon's phase, the zenith distance of the moon, the zenith distance of the sky position, the angular separation of the moon and sky position, and the local extinction coefficient. The model equations can be quickly calculated on a pocket calculator. A comparison of the model with lunar data and with some Russian solar data shows the accuracy of the predictions to range from 8 percent to 23 percent.

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