Moonshine? (not the liquor)

[Manok101]

I was wondering how much moonshine affected the viewing conditions? is it like being hazy when the moon is near full?

[scogyrd]

It's more like being stood under a floodlight when the moon is full.

[yeti monster]

Aye, spoils all the goodness of deep sky patrol, some people even resort to observing the moon...

[scogyrd]

One other thing I've noticed is that most clear nights are spoiled by a full moon. The odds of getting a clear night and a new moon seem somewhat astronomical to me, if you'll pardon the pun.

Is there an astronomical phrase for this phenomenon?

[Adz]

Well I can think what I would call it, but I would probably get a telling off from the mods. If I am really, really lucky I may get a clear cloudless night around a new moon

[BinocularSky]

One other thing I've noticed is that most clear nights are spoiled by a full moon.

Indeed so. The Moonlight burns off the cloud cover.

Is there an astronomical phrase for this phenomenon?

Funny you should ask. It's an astronomical implementation of Murphy's Law called "The Lunar Radiation Principle". I shall post other implementations in "The Lounge"