Intentar ORO - Gratis
WHAT IS ASHEN LIGHT?
BBC Science Focus
|November 2023
The 'ashen light', or AL, is a faint, mysterious glow, or colouration, seen in the night-side hemisphere of the planet Venus.
-

It's often compared to the reflected 'Earthshine' that sometimes illuminates the dark-side of the Moon. First reported in 1643 by Italian astronomer Giovanni Riccioli, AL has been observed many times since, but its faint, transitory and elusive nature has prevented serious study. More problematically, AL has only ever been detected by the human eye and no scientific instrument, either Earth-based or space-based, has ever recorded the phenomenon.
Esta historia es de la edición November 2023 de BBC Science Focus.
Suscríbete a Magzter GOLD para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9000 revistas y periódicos.
¿Ya eres suscriptor? Iniciar sesión
MÁS HISTORIAS DE BBC Science Focus

BBC Science Focus
ART FOR HEART'S SAKE
Practising art - or just looking at it - can improve your health. Here's why we shouldn't brush off the benefits
2 mins
September 2025

BBC Science Focus
I KEEP HAVING NIGHTMARES. SHOULD I BE WORRIED?
Most of us have the odd bad dream. But if you're regularly waking in a cold sweat, you might be wondering: is it just stress, or something more serious?
1 min
September 2025

BBC Science Focus
THE PLATYPUS
When European scientists first set eyes on the platypus, in the form of a pelt and a sketch shipped over from Australia in 1798, they couldn't believe it.
2 mins
September 2025

BBC Science Focus
THE EXPERTS' GET-TO-SLEEP-QUICK TRICKS
Everyone has trouble sleeping from time to time, even the scientists who spend every waking hour studying it. So, what steps do the experts take when they can't drop off?
7 mins
September 2025

BBC Science Focus
DO ANY FOODS TASTE BETTER IN SPACE?
Not usually.
1 min
September 2025

BBC Science Focus
WAS THE SEA ALWAYS BLUE?
Our planet has had an ocean for around 3.8 billion years, but new research suggests it hasn't always been blue.
1 mins
September 2025

BBC Science Focus
HOW MUCH OF THE OCEAN IS JUST WHALE PEE?
It's not true that the seas are salty because of whale pee, although a single fin whale can produce as much as 250 gallons of urine a day.
1 mins
September 2025

BBC Science Focus
Do pheromones control human attraction?
Could invisible chemical signals sway our behaviour, or who we're attracted to - all without us knowing?
4 mins
September 2025

BBC Science Focus
EDITOR'S PICKS...
This month's smartest tech
3 mins
September 2025

BBC Science Focus
ASTRONOMY FROM THE FAR SIDE
THERE'S ONLY ONE PLACE TO GO IF WE WANT TO CATCH SIGHT OF THE COSMIC DAWN
7 mins
September 2025
Translate
Change font size