Glad I could startle you! [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Actually, I said nearly as bright. There are two factors that would cut that down: less-than-perfect reflectivity (SAMU is not claiming that the moon is pure white), and the fact that the moon is a sphere, so only a fraction of the incident light would happen to head our way. That's why I suggested a "dark blue sky" if the moon were more reflective than it is.

If the moon were, in fact, a plane (or slightly parabolic) mirror aimed just right, we'd see an image of the solar disc, almost exactly the same size as the sun; a full moon would produce 24-hour daylight. And daytime heat, too, if the mirror was good down to IR wavelengths.

Weren't the Russians toying with the idea of orbiting large mirrors to bring more "sunlight" to Siberia and increase crop yields? Anybody remember this, and know what came of it?