View source for Albedo

'''Albedo''' is the ratio of the outgoing solar [[radiation]] reflected by an object to the incoming solar radiation incident upon it.<ref>[http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Library/glossary.php3?mode=all NASA Earth Observatory glossary]</ref>

Albedo is the reflection coefficent of an object to electromagnetic radiation (usually visible [[light]]). The word comes from the Latin word ''albus'', meaning "white."

Albedo is not expressed in any units but on a scale from 0 to 1. A pure white object would be 1 while completely black object (e.g. [[black hole]]) would have a value of zero.  It is an important concept in [[climate change]] discussions where the albedo of the earth affects the amount of [[light]] and [[heat]] reflected back in to [[Outer space|space]].  

The moon has an albedo of 0.39.

==Notes==
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[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Solar Energy]]