An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

The variation in brightness of a target as the phase angle (the angle between Sun and observer as seen from the target) varies between 0° and 180°. The directional distribution of reflected (or scattered) radiation. The phase angle is the supplement of the scattering angle (the angle between the incident ray and the emerging ray); in other words, the sum of the phase angle and the scattering angle is always 180° (Ellis et al., 2007, Planetary Ring Systems, Springer).

See also: → phase; → function.