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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.
At about 200,000 km beneath the solar surface it is cool enough for some of the protons, neutrons and electrons in the plasma to âget back togetherâ to form ions. Since they are no longer being bashed apart by collisions with other particles, these ions are able to absorb photons coming from the radiation zone.