If we can see the light of the moon so well on earth, why aren’t the astronauts blinded by the light when they are on the moon?
I’m sure there is an obvious answer to this question. But I’m actually sort of hoping that there is some amazing cosmic phenomena with light and distance or some crap?
whatever, I was just wondering.
because the helmets have a sunglasses-like cover that can be slid into place when the sun is shining directly on them!
Lookee here!
actually, my link doesn’t specify that the gold-plated sun-visor slides into place… it amy have been permanently in place!
Where did I get the sliding image? Maybe sci-fi films… I dunno… 
Not sure what you mean by “reflect off the moon.” The moon is illuminated by the sun, just as the earth is. The surface of the moon isn’t particularly reflective either - it’s the color of an ordinary earth rock.
Of course, because of the lack of atmosphere, the sun is somewhat brighter on the moon than on the earth. The difference isn’t all that great - around 10% for visible light, if I remember correctly. Other types of radiation are much brighter, so you do need protection from ultraviolet rays and such. (I think that’s the primary purpose of the gold coating, right?)
It’s like being in the desert on a sunny day, except the sky is black instead of blue. You don’t go blind in the desert, especially if you have sunglasses.
Really, the Moon isn’t all that bright, either. It just looks that way because it’s so big, and it’s surrounded by black sky.
The earth (as you may recall from seeing the earthrise photos taken from the moon) ALSO shines with reflected solar light. Do you get blinded from sunlight reflecting off the earth’s surface when you step outside in the daytime?
I have just had a thought. What about “Snow Blindness”? Is there a phenomenum like that on the moon?
Although that is usually combatted by sunglasses, IIRC
Just a thought.
Rick
As I said, the surface of the moon is not particularly reflective, far less so than snow. More like regular sand or rock.
The amount of light we receive from an object decreases with the square of the distance, so you might think that something that far away like the moon must have been very very bright indeed at the surface. However the proportion of our visual field taken up by an object also decreases with the square of the distance so the two cancel each other out. The moon surface we see is only a bit dimmer (due to filtering by the atmosphere etc.) than at the actual surface.
Try this experiment. Pin up a sheet of paper to the wall, making sure it is well lit. Observe said paper from 8 feet away. Next observe tha same sheet from 2 feet. You will notice that it looks the same at both distances, not 16 times brighter. (try this with a photographic light meter if you do not trust your eyes - just be sure that the paper fills the meters angle of view at both distances. A light colored wall may work better)
Simple answer. Observe pictures of the earth from outer space. Notice how sunlight is reflected off the earth’s surface (granted, not as dramatically as it is off the moon). Wonder why we’re not all blinded from reflected earthlight.
thanks everybody, especially ticker