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Solar eclipse sky brightness and color.

Joseph A Shaw, Glenn E Shaw, Bryan Scherrer

|March 17, 2026

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

During a solar eclipse, the sky isn't completely dark due to scattered light. This study models sky brightness during totality, revealing it's significantly darker and bluer than the daytime sky.

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Area of Science:

Atmospheric optics
Radiative transfer theory
Solar eclipses

Background:

The sky during a solar eclipse is not completely dark.
This dim illumination is caused by light scattering in the atmosphere outside the eclipse shadow.
Second-order scattering is the dominant process.

Purpose of the Study:

To describe a method for calculating sky spectral radiance during a solar eclipse.
To predict the spectral radiance of the zenith sky during totality using a second-order scattering model.
To improve the understanding of atmospheric optical effects during eclipses.

Main Methods:

Developed a second-order scattering model incorporating molecular and aerosol scattering.
Included an illumination function to quantify solar illumination falloff.
Simulated spectral radiance and compared with observational data.

Main Results:

The zenith sky during totality is predicted to be approximately four orders of magnitude darker than the daytime sky.
The color of the totality zenith sky is bluer than the daytime sky.
Totality skylight originates from high troposphere scattering within a ~66 km radius for hazy conditions.

Conclusions:

The developed model accurately predicts zenith sky spectral radiance during solar eclipses.
The findings enhance the understanding of atmospheric light scattering and eclipse observation.
The study validates model predictions with real-world eclipse observations.