# Saving energy at night: just make the moon brighter! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 21, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-energy-at-night-just-make-the-moon-brighter/686622 "2014-04-21T18:59:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mandala](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mandala/32/95_2.png) [@mandala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandala)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-energy-at-night-just-make-the-moon-brighter/686622/1 "2014-04-21T18:59:32Z")
Here’s a solution to saving some energy costs: [brighten the moon](http://www.mashable.com/2014/04/17/brighter-moon), so you can do away with the need for artificial lighting. Brilliant idea from Foreo, a cosmetics company. Apparently their fairness creams are not selling that well. - Place billions of reflectors on the moon’s surface, or just paint the moon white with Foreo’s fairness cream. - Kiss the dark skies goodbye. Never see the galactic disk again, or any but the brightest stars. - Screw up the body clock of just about every living thing on the planet that has one. - When the moon and the Sun are up in the sky together, just wear your ray-ban. - While the painting crews are up there, we could start a terraforming operation or secretly spirit away some nukes. Awesome plan. I’m ready to donate. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-energy-at-night-just-make-the-moon-brighter/686622/2 "2014-04-21T19:25:33Z")
The moon isn’t necessarily visible at useful times of the night, and isn’t always fully illuminated anyway. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-energy-at-night-just-make-the-moon-brighter/686622/3 "2014-04-21T20:38:36Z")
Also, the moon is often visible during the daytime. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-energy-at-night-just-make-the-moon-brighter/686622/4 "2014-04-22T07:02:59Z")
Great idea, but moonburn is a serious concern. Also, kids with magnifying glasses will try to set night crawlers on fire, although this usually takes a few hours. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-energy-at-night-just-make-the-moon-brighter/686622/5 "2014-04-22T09:05:22Z")
If we had the energy to do that, we wouldn’t need to worry about saving energy on lighting in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-energy-at-night-just-make-the-moon-brighter/686622/6 "2014-04-22T09:36:34Z")
I watched [a video recently](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8I25H3bnNw) that showed that if the moon was entirely made of mirrors it would be less useful as a reflector of light than it is now. So the status quo is pretty much the best you can expect. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-energy-at-night-just-make-the-moon-brighter/686622/7 "2014-04-22T10:08:26Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I watched [a video recently](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8I25H3bnNw) that showed that if the moon was entirely made of mirrors it would be less useful as a reflector of light than it is now. Never mind that. Now I want a low orbit moon sized disco ball! Never mind world-destroying tidal forces and other minor practicalities. Funding must be diverted to this project immediately! ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-energy-at-night-just-make-the-moon-brighter/686622/8 "2014-04-22T10:09:28Z")
Have we learned nothing from _The Mighty Boosh_? The moon is unreliable at best. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-energy-at-night-just-make-the-moon-brighter/686622/9 "2014-04-22T12:40:46Z")
Hey, if we covered the moon with mirrors, it’d be almost invisible, wouldn’t it? Kind of like a cloaking device. All those satellites would just run into it. Screw that. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-energy-at-night-just-make-the-moon-brighter/686622/10 "2014-04-22T13:58:43Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I watched [a video recently](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8I25H3bnNw) that showed that if the moon was entirely made of mirrors it would be less useful as a reflector of light than it is now. > > So the status quo is pretty much the best you can expect. I can’t follow that link from here - in that scenario, is it just tiled with mirrors like a disco ball? (Because it seems to me that an array of movable mirrors would make it appear almost as bright as the sun (but not as luminant, due to size). ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-energy-at-night-just-make-the-moon-brighter/686622/11 "2014-04-22T14:05:53Z")
since the moon isn’t fully illuminated all the time reflectors wouldn’t always produce the most light. intersperse the reflectors with phosphorescent materials. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-energy-at-night-just-make-the-moon-brighter/686622/12 "2014-04-22T14:12:06Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > since the moon isn’t fully illuminated all the time reflectors wouldn’t always produce the most light. True - I guess if you’re going to go to the trouble of making a moons-worth of mirrors, why not just put them in orbit? (unless they are manufactured on the moon). ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-energy-at-night-just-make-the-moon-brighter/686622/13 "2014-04-22T14:19:51Z")
Plus somebody carved a big “[CHA](http://www.popgunchaos.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/chairface-moon.jpg)” on the face of it. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-energy-at-night-just-make-the-moon-brighter/686622/14 "2014-04-22T14:23:48Z")
could have sponsorship and have the illuminations display corporate logos. ---
**Author:** ![mandala](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mandala/32/95_2.png) [@mandala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandala)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-energy-at-night-just-make-the-moon-brighter/686622/15 "2014-04-22T14:34:05Z")
Here’s a more technological [approach](http://what-if.xkcd.com/13/). 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-energy-at-night-just-make-the-moon-brighter/686622/16 "2014-04-22T14:37:13Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Never mind that. Now I want a low orbit moon sized disco ball! Never mind world-destroying tidal forces and other minor practicalities. Funding must be diverted to this project immediately! Pinky and the Brain tried that, but they never got past the “become famous avant-garde painters to raise money to buy the mirrors” stage. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-energy-at-night-just-make-the-moon-brighter/686622/17 "2014-04-22T14:44:29Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Plus somebody carved a big “[CHA](http://www.popgunchaos.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/chairface-moon.jpg)” on the face of it. As long as he hasn’t scrawled his great Darsh face on it… ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-energy-at-night-just-make-the-moon-brighter/686622/18 "2014-04-22T15:00:05Z")
The moon is more important than the sun. The moon gives us light at night, while the sun only shines in the daytime. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-energy-at-night-just-make-the-moon-brighter/686622/19 "2014-04-22T15:13:57Z")
> [@mandala](#): > > Here’s a more technological [approach](http://what-if.xkcd.com/13/). 🆒 My takeaway from that article? It can be done. Let’s get started! ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-energy-at-night-just-make-the-moon-brighter/686622/20 "2014-04-22T20:19:24Z")
Somebody once proposed that we nuke the moon to create a ring around the earth to give light all night long. Aside from the difficulty of blowing up the moon, the whole idea was idiotic. And the guy, whom I once had the misfortune of knowing, was indeed an idiot. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-energy-at-night-just-make-the-moon-brighter/686622.md?page=2)