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Planetlight is the diffuse reflection of sunlight from a planet, whose albedo can be measured. The most observed and familiar example of planetshine is earthshine on the Moon , which is most visible from the night side of Earth when the lunar phase is crescent or nearly new , [ 1 ] without the atmospheric brightness of the daytime sky.
A layer of snowfall increases local albedo, reflecting away sunlight, leading to local cooling. In principle, if no outside temperature change affects this area (e.g., a warm air mass ), the raised albedo and lower temperature would maintain the current snow and invite further snowfall, deepening the snow–temperature feedback.
A planetary phase is a certain portion of a planet's area that reflects sunlight as viewed from a given vantage point, as well as the period of time during which it occurs. The phase is determined by the phase angle , which is the angle between the planet, the Sun and the Earth.
Thus, the Sun occupies 0.00001% (1 part in 10 7) of the volume of a sphere with a radius the size of Earth's orbit, whereas Earth's volume is roughly 1 millionth (10 −6) that of the Sun. Jupiter, the largest planet, is 5.2 AU from the Sun and has a radius of 71,000 km (0.00047 AU; 44,000 mi), whereas the most distant planet, Neptune, is 30 AU ...
Earthlight is the diffuse reflection of sunlight reflected from Earth's surface and clouds. Earthshine (an example of planetshine ), also known as the Moon's ashen glow , is the dim illumination of the otherwise unilluminated portion of the Moon by this indirect sunlight.
Planets shine due to sunlight reflecting or scattering from the planets' surface or atmosphere. Thus, the relative Sun-planet-Earth positions determine the planet's brightness. With a telescope or good binoculars, the planets appear as discs demonstrating finite size, and it is possible to observe orbiting moons which cast shadows onto the host ...
Diagram of ice–albedo feedback. Ice reflects more light back into space, whereas land and water absorb more of the sunlight. Ice–albedo feedback is a climate change feedback, where a change in the area of ice caps, glaciers, and sea ice alters the albedo and surface temperature of a planet.
These particles scatter the light, reflecting some of it to the ground. Hence, the sky can remain illuminated even after the sun has set. Images showing a planetary terminator can be used to map topography: the position of the tip of a mountain behind the terminator line is measured when the Sun still or already illuminates it while the base of ...