The Artist Who Solved The Riddle of Earthshine

Leonardo Da Vinci is primarily associated with his artistic creations and his oddly inspired mechanical contraptions. However many people are unaware of his astronomical endeavors, more importantly his discovery of earthshine.

Already during the 16th century, Leonardo da Vinci had correctly gathered enough information and drawings to explain the nature of earthshine. In Da Vinci’s Codex Leicester, published in the early 16th century, he states his belief that the Moon possessed an atmosphere and oceans, and that it was a fine reflector of light because it was covered with so much water. He also speculated about how storms on Earth could cause the earthshine to become brighter or dimmer, which is indeed observable with modern instrumentation.

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From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by lannaxe96.


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6,240,000,000,000,000,000,000 or 6.24 sextillion ?

To me that is unfathomable, unimaginable.

Okay, having said that- I also have to admit that all numbers above 10 get a bit out of reach for me... :-P
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??? Nope

There are approximately 6.24 × 10^21 cups of water in the oceans.

(6,240,000,000,000,000,000,000 or 6.24 sextillion)

There are estimated 10^22 to 10^24 stars in the universe.

(100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 - 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 or 100 sextillion to 10 septillian)

Not infinite. Even if we don't know the exact quantity, we do know for a fact that there is a number and a limit. Infinite is not indefinite.
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