[tw]

Originally Posted by BigV

Not so. Although the redder frequencies of the visible portion of the spectrum of light are refracted more than the bluer frequencies, this has nothing to do with the percieved color of the moon in this example. The red of the moon and the blue of the sky are what they are for the same reason: scattering.

Tell me where all this red 'scattered' light is at midnight? The moon is red because that is the red light refracted through the earth's atmosphere - the only source of light to illuminate the moon. Blue light does not bend sufficiently AND therefore does not illuminate the moon. The amount of red light that illuminates the moon is the amount of red light refracted through the earth's atmosphere.

My odometer is only good to a mile. So how do I measure the distance between two points to within a hundreth of a mile? It's called statistics. Take enough data to obtain an accurate reading. Other variables to this experiment are included when taking that data; only some I have listed. But these variables are taken into account when measurements over generations showed a decrease in the amount of light reaching the moon - through earth's atmosphere.

Your assumptions about clouds and crude measuring assume no knowledge of statistics and no use of instruments. These experiements (and others including a measurment of sun's intensity) have been ongoing for decades using calibrated instruments; meaning these 'course measurements' by science have resulted in accurate data.

Meanwhile the course measurements that Big V cited from Danjon Scale of Lunar Eclipse Brightness are how the laymen - without instruments - can ball park the same experiment. That citation also says

... the [earth's] atmosphere refracts some of the Sun's rays into the shadow. Earth's atmosphere contains varying amounts of water (clouds, mist, precipitation) and solid particles (dust, organic debris, volcanic ash). This material filters and attenuates the sunlight before it's refracted into the umbra. For instance, large or frequent volcanic eruptions dumping huge quantities of ash into the atmosphere are often followed by very dark, red eclipses for several years.

BigV's own citation confirms that lunar eclipses measure the clarity of earth's atmosphere. The accusation of "This sounds like nonsense. Do you care to explain it in more detail?" is posted in direct contradiction to BigV's own citation. Care to explain why you did not read your own citation before posting?

I thank you for confirming what I had posted. The illumination of the moon by light refracted in earth's atmosphere is one method to measure clarity or contamination of earth's atmosphere. Big V confirms how the experiment is performed- and how laymen without instruments can do the same experiment.