Ashen light is a subtle glow that is seen from the night side of the planet Venus. This ashen light is said to be very similar to Earthshine on the Moon, but not as distinguished in brightness. It was first sighted by the astronomer Giovanni Battista Riccioli on January 9, 1643, and has been frequently sighted by various researchers including Sir William Herschel, Patrick Moore, Dale P. Cruikshank, and William K. Hartmann.
Before the development of more powerful telescopes, early astronomer Franz von Gruithuisen believed that ashen light was from the fires from celebration of a new Venusian emperor, and later believed that it was the inhabitants burning vegetation to make room for farmland.
Read more about Ashen Light: Detection Attempts, Other Hypotheses
Famous quotes containing the word light:
“The splendor falls on castle walls
And snowy summits old in story;
The long light shakes across the lakes,
And the wild cataract leaps in glory.
Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,
Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.”
—Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)