I may have missed the point here (forgive me), but if you can see the terrain, any relected light from the moon, and any residual light from the sun, and any radiated lights, then you are in fact in sight of the ground and then infact in visual contact with the ground.
Anybody who is from the countryside will vouch that at night, things are quite visible. City folk may imagine it to be black at night, but things are quite visible once you give them a chance.
With Night Rating you do not need IMC/IR to fly at night as long as you maintain visual contact with the ground.