Home Â» Local Â» Weather Report Clovis, New Mexico Weather Report Â· Interactive Map Â· Extended Forecast Â· Hourly Forecast Â· Past Observations Â· Historic Averages
The balance between energy absorbed by the earth and energy reflected back into space is fundamental in determining how warm or cool the planet becomes. The proportion of radiation reflected away by a surface is called its albedo. Albedo can range between 0 (no reflectance) and 1 (complete reflectanceâlike a mirror). The earthâs average albedo is .31, which means that, overall, the planet reflects about 31% of incoming solar radiation back into space.
For planets with no atmosphere all the Sun's radiation will strike the surface. Some of this will be reflected away from the planet but the rest will be absorbed. The temperature of the surface will be raised until there is equilibrium between the energy radiated by the warm surface of the planet and the received solar radiation.