Is the brightness of the Half Moon really 1/9 the Full Moon?

Well, my copy of Astrophysical Quantities by C.W. Allen says in section 66.0 that the phase law for the Moon is such that for an angle of 90 degrees between the Earth and the Sun as viewed from the Moon, or Half Moon phase, theratio of the Full Moon intensity to Half Moon is 0.089. This is about 1/11 the Full Moon brightness.


Copyright 1997 Dr. Sten Odenwald
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