The dimming of starlight as it passes through Earth's atmosphere due to scattering and absorption by air molecules, dust, and water vapor. Extinction increases dramatically at low altitudes where more atmosphere must be traversed.
Combining 'atmospheric' from Greek 'atmos' (vapor) and 'sphaira' (sphere) with 'extinction' from Latin 'extinguere' (to quench). The astronomical usage developed in the 19th century as photometry became precise enough to measure atmospheric effects.
Atmospheric extinction makes the Sun safe to look at during sunrise and sunset! The same scattering that dims stars also removes the Sun's harmful intensity when it's low on the horizon - you're seeing it through 40 times more atmosphere than at noon.
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