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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.
1 The incoming radiation from the sun is short wave ultraviolet and visible radiation. 2  Some of this radiation is absorbed by the earths atmosphere. 3  Some of the radiation is reflected back into space by the earths surface.  The radiation which is reflected back into space is infrared radiation and has a longer wavelength.