<p>It will depend on the face of the Earth that is reflecting the Sun light. It will be a mixture of blue from oceans, white from clouds / poles, brown from deserts and green from forests.</p>

<p>As the Earth has more ocean than land it will usually be dominated by blue (ocean) and white (cloud) making a pale blue.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-04T12:31:16.773Z
2016-07-04T12:31:16.773Z
James Screech
<p>The light from Earth into space has a blueish colour, and when that light reflects from the Moon and is seen by someone on Earth it is a bit less blue because the lunar surface reflects yellow light more than blue. The net effect is to give us earthshine that is blueish, or turquoise.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-30T16:15:44.987Z
2017-04-30T16:15:44.987Z
Peter Thejll
<p>You must put it in a spectral histogram program. same color as a shark/manatee according to one crazy program. I found this from basic <a href="http://www.wisegeek.com/how-can-i-find-the-average-color-in-a-photograph.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">blur pic</a> from a true color source:
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/dFDOc.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/dFDOc.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a>
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/gma5t.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/gma5t.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a>
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/1UDa4.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/1UDa4.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a>
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/LYTDH.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/LYTDH.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a>
and for true color of all planets there was this:
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/RME65.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/RME65.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-01T20:05:43.377Z
2017-05-01T20:11:56.777Z
2017-05-01T20:11:56.777Z
bandybabboon
<p>I inputed James K's value into my game for the lighting for my earth lit moon level, and here is what it looks like:
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/tlRpd.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/tlRpd.jpg" alt="Moon base lit by Earth"></a></p>

<p>I'd say this is quite beautiful!  I realize it would probably be dark enough that we wouldn't see it quite that way, but the robot you control in Planetary Settlers has an enhanced camera to adjust to dark or bright environments.  Note that the land is dark grey, but is lit turquoise by the lighting.  In this view, you are standing in a sand garden, so the color of that land appears a bit different (starts off light yellow, lit by turquoise light).  A big thank you for all of your inputs.  If you are interested in learning more about the game I am making, I just made my website for it here: <a href="https://jonathanlcopeland.wixsite.com/planetary" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://jonathanlcopeland.wixsite.com/planetary</a></p>

<p>Thank you all for your wonderful answers!</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-24T00:23:08.853Z
2017-07-24T00:23:08.853Z
Jonathan
<p>The reason the earth is blue is Rayleigh scattering -- same reason the sky is blue.  Think of it as a big, faintly glowing blue light bulb.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-24T03:54:34.947Z
I believe you confuse refracted light (the color of the sky) and reflected light (the color of the planet, as seen from the outside).
DYZ
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-23T16:15:52.240Z
2017-12-23T16:15:52.240Z
Mariposa Jon
<p>In my answer to <a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/14032/color-of-planets">Color of planets</a> I estimated the colour of the Earth as #<a href="http://www.htmlcsscolor.com/hex/2F6A69" rel="noreferrer">2f6a69</a> (based on averaging the colour in various images of Earth, and adjusting for albedo), but noted that it is the hardest of the planets to give a single colour to.</p>

<p>If you were on the near side of the moon with no sun the cones in your eyes would not be fully active: you would be have <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesopic_vision" rel="noreferrer">Mesopic vision</a>. Also your eyes would adapt to the blue light conditions. As a result you probably wouldn't notice blueness of the light much.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-04T17:36:18.110Z
Thank you!  I couldn't quite get it right trying to do it "by eye", it looks much better now!
Jonathan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-14T23:37:18.693Z
By the way, this turns out to be a shade of turquoise, and looks beautiful (as well as probably accurate)!
Jonathan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-24T00:30:10.900Z
@JamesK Thought you might be interested to see the results of your input.  Thank you, I think it turned out rather stunning as well as probably accurate!
Jonathan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-01T19:40:46.197Z
are you sure it's that green? true color images i found gave landmass as being more sand color than green, plants are fairly dark compared to quartz. check on a histogram?
bandybabboon
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-01T19:53:09.420Z
No, it's not in any sense a rigorous value of the colour of Earthshine. I took some images of the Earth and averaged the hue, then adjusted for the overall albedo. It's meant as a first approximation. The colour of the Earth is quite variable. It rotates so sometimes land masses face you, and sometimes oceans. Sometimes there are more green plants, sometimes there is more snow or cloud. However, this is *my* best attempt at a single value for the colour of Earth. Feel free to do your own estimation.
James K
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-04T15:07:50.620Z
2016-07-04T18:31:03.603Z
2017-04-13T12:59:07.017Z
James K
<p>What color is earthshine (e.g the average color of earth that shines on the moon)?  I am making a solar system exploration game, and would like to know this for the lighting of my moon level at night, with a "full earth".</p>

<p>Edit: With your answers, this is what I get:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/lqhRh.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/lqhRh.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>Edit:
Here is a video including the moon level, bathed in earthshine as the specified color in the answer at "night time" (clip is 12 seconds into the video):
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKGCtkps8gk&amp;list=PL9Bk1v7iJfdCpRaQ6vTGYOM-lXAO7RAQ1&amp;index=1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKGCtkps8gk&amp;list=PL9Bk1v7iJfdCpRaQ6vTGYOM-lXAO7RAQ1&amp;index=1</a></p>

<p>If interested in my game I am making, here is a link to it:
<a href="https://jonathanlcopeland.wixsite.com/planetary" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://jonathanlcopeland.wixsite.com/planetary</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-27T15:10:39.953Z
Given earth's larger diameter and higher albedo I calculate that a full earth as seen from the moon is about 34 times as bright as the full moon we see. See [The Dark Side Of The Moon](http://hopsblog-hop.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-dark-side-of-moon.html)
HopDavid
<the-moon><earth><light>
What color is earthshine?
Jonathan
# What color is earthshine?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-07-04)

What color is earthshine (e.g the average color of earth that shines on the moon)? I am making a solar system exploration game, and would like to know this for the lighting of my moon level at night, with a "full earth".

Edit: With your answers, this is what I get:

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/lqhRh.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/lqhRh.jpg)

Edit:
Here is a video including the moon level, bathed in earthshine as the specified color in the answer at "night time" (clip is 12 seconds into the video):
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKGCtkps8gk&list=PL9Bk1v7iJfdCpRaQ6vTGYOM-lXAO7RAQ1&index=1>

If interested in my game I am making, here is a link to it:
<https://jonathanlcopeland.wixsite.com/planetary>

**Tags:** the-moon, earth, light

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Given earth's larger diameter and higher albedo I calculate that a full earth as seen from the moon is about 34 times as bright as the full moon we see. See [The Dark Side Of The Moon](http://hopsblog-hop.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-dark-side-of-moon.html)  

---

## 6 answers

### Answer by username_7 on 2016-07-04. Score: 10 | Accepted answer

In my answer to [Color of planets](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/14032/color-of-planets) I estimated the colour of the Earth as #[2f6a69](http://www.htmlcsscolor.com/hex/2F6A69) (based on averaging the colour in various images of Earth, and adjusting for albedo), but noted that it is the hardest of the planets to give a single colour to.

If you were on the near side of the moon with no sun the cones in your eyes would not be fully active: you would be have [Mesopic vision](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesopic_vision). Also your eyes would adapt to the blue light conditions. As a result you probably wouldn't notice blueness of the light much.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you!  I couldn't quite get it right trying to do it "by eye", it looks much better now!  
> **username_0**: By the way, this turns out to be a shade of turquoise, and looks beautiful (as well as probably accurate)!  
> **username_4**: are you sure it's that green? true color images i found gave landmass as being more sand color than green, plants are fairly dark compared to quartz. check on a histogram?  
> **username_7**: No, it's not in any sense a rigorous value of the colour of Earthshine. I took some images of the Earth and averaged the hue, then adjusted for the overall albedo. It's meant as a first approximation. The colour of the Earth is quite variable. It rotates so sometimes land masses face you, and sometimes oceans. Sometimes there are more green plants, sometimes there is more snow or cloud. However, this is *my* best attempt at a single value for the colour of Earth. Feel free to do your own estimation.  
> **username_0**: @JamesK Thought you might be interested to see the results of your input.  Thank you, I think it turned out rather stunning as well as probably accurate!  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2016-07-04. Score: 3

It will depend on the face of the Earth that is reflecting the Sun light. It will be a mixture of blue from oceans, white from clouds / poles, brown from deserts and green from forests.

As the Earth has more ocean than land it will usually be dominated by blue (ocean) and white (cloud) making a pale blue.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2017-04-30. Score: 2

The light from Earth into space has a blueish colour, and when that light reflects from the Moon and is seen by someone on Earth it is a bit less blue because the lunar surface reflects yellow light more than blue. The net effect is to give us earthshine that is blueish, or turquoise.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2017-05-01. Score: 2

You must put it in a spectral histogram program. same color as a shark/manatee according to one crazy program. I found this from basic [blur pic](http://www.wisegeek.com/how-can-i-find-the-average-color-in-a-photograph.htm) from a true color source:
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/dFDOc.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/dFDOc.jpg)
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/gma5t.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/gma5t.jpg)
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/1UDa4.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/1UDa4.jpg)
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/LYTDH.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/LYTDH.jpg)
and for true color of all planets there was this:
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/RME65.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/RME65.jpg)


---

### Answer by username_0 on 2017-07-24. Score: 0

I inputed username_7's value into my game for the lighting for my earth lit moon level, and here is what it looks like:
[![Moon base lit by Earth](https://i.sstatic.net/tlRpd.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/tlRpd.jpg)

I'd say this is quite beautiful! I realize it would probably be dark enough that we wouldn't see it quite that way, but the robot you control in Planetary Settlers has an enhanced camera to adjust to dark or bright environments. Note that the land is dark grey, but is lit turquoise by the lighting. In this view, you are standing in a sand garden, so the color of that land appears a bit different (starts off light yellow, lit by turquoise light). A big thank you for all of your inputs. If you are interested in learning more about the game I am making, I just made my website for it here: <https://jonathanlcopeland.wixsite.com/planetary>

Thank you all for your wonderful answers!


---

### Answer by username_5 on 2017-12-23. Score: -1

The reason the earth is blue is Rayleigh scattering -- same reason the sky is blue. Think of it as a big, faintly glowing blue light bulb.

> **Comments:**
> **username_6**: I believe you confuse refracted light (the color of the sky) and reflected light (the color of the planet, as seen from the outside).  

---

