Earthshine
Earthshine is sunlight that has bounced off Earth — seen from here as the faint glow on the dark portion of a crescent moon.
Full definition of Earthshine →:: COMPARE ::
EarthshinevsPlanetshine
The short answer
Earthshine is one case of planetshine — the general phenomenon of a moon's dark side being lit by its parent planet. The same effect operates on moons throughout the solar system; ours is simply the one we can see from underneath.
Side by side
| Aspect | Earthshine | Planetshine |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Earth and Moon | Any planet-moon pair |
| Visible to us | Yes | With a telescope |
| Brightness varies with | Earth's albedo | The planet's albedo |
| Category | An instance | The general case |
What each one means
Planetshine
The contrast above sets out how Planetshine differs from Earthshine on the points that actually matter.