<p>To add to Conrad Turner, if you look at the moon during the day against a bright sky, then i looks quite "washed out" and much more like the photographs taken from near its surface.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-22T06:48:40.123Z
2016-07-22T06:48:40.123Z
Dr Chuck
<p>The Moon, Mars, Venus are seen against a dark sky using an eye whose aperture is adjusted to the average brightness of the visual field. So bright small sources are over-exposed and so appear bright.</p>

<p>Photographs of planetary surfaces are taken with aperture and exposure set for proper exposure. So appear closer to how they would look if they filled your eye's field of view and so the aperture would be set to properly expose the surface.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-22T11:53:56.117Z
You mean the eye's dynamic range?
Sparkler
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-22T13:03:05.387Z
I mean what I say, the eye sets its aperture wide in the dark, so the moon appears over bright, The photos set the exposure and aperture to correctly expose the surface, which is still deceptive as the surface is darker than [asphalt](http://agsys.cra-cin.it/tools/solarradiation/help/Albedo.html)
Conrad Turner
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-21T06:59:54.157Z
2016-07-21T06:59:54.157Z
Conrad Turner
<p>The moon, for example, appears very bright in the night sky, but quite dark from photographs on/near its surface.</p>

<p>Similarly, Mars and Venus appear as bright dots in the sky but in closer photographs they're quite dark.</p>

<light><night-sky>
Why celestial objects appear brighter in the night sky than in photographs from closer proximity?
Sparkler
# Why celestial objects appear brighter in the night sky than in photographs from closer proximity?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-07-21)

The moon, for example, appears very bright in the night sky, but quite dark from photographs on/near its surface.

Similarly, Mars and Venus appear as bright dots in the sky but in closer photographs they're quite dark.

**Tags:** light, night-sky


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2016-07-21. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

The Moon, Mars, Venus are seen against a dark sky using an eye whose aperture is adjusted to the average brightness of the visual field. So bright small sources are over-exposed and so appear bright.

Photographs of planetary surfaces are taken with aperture and exposure set for proper exposure. So appear closer to how they would look if they filled your eye's field of view and so the aperture would be set to properly expose the surface.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: You mean the eye's dynamic range?  
> **username_2**: I mean what I say, the eye sets its aperture wide in the dark, so the moon appears over bright, The photos set the exposure and aperture to correctly expose the surface, which is still deceptive as the surface is darker than [asphalt](http://agsys.cra-cin.it/tools/solarradiation/help/Albedo.html)  

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### Answer by username_1 on 2016-07-22. Score: 1

To add to username_2, if you look at the moon during the day against a bright sky, then i looks quite "washed out" and much more like the photographs taken from near its surface.


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