Celestia Forums

If a one thousand square kilometer area of the Earth's surface could be made so dark that it reflects almost no light would it appear the same color and brightness when viewed at nadir from orbit under very clear conditions as the sky appears at zenith under the same clear conditions? (Assume for hypothetical purposes that the sky is at its deepest blue at zenith and you are looking up from the center of the dark area.)

Yes, it's an odd question. But it concerns the effects of Rayleigh and other atmospheric scattering on the appearance of objects and might have implications for how the Earth should appear in Celestia.

Lone

Hm. Interesting question...

I *think* that if you were looking down at that area from directly above then it'd be tinted somewhat by the atmosphere. If viewed from above the atmosphere the ground has a blueish tinge to it anyway, that washes out the contrast.