Albedo in an albedo range of 0.1 to 0.4. The average albedo of Earth is about 0.3. This is far higher than for the ocean primarily because of the contribution of clouds. Earth's surface albedo is regularly estimated via Earth observation satellite sensors such as NASA's MODIS instruments on board the Terra and Aqua satellites, and the CERES instrument on the Suomi NPP and JPSS. As the amount of reflected radiation is only measured for a single direction by satellite, not all directions, a mathematical model is used to translate a sample set of satellite reflectance measurements into estimates of directional-hemispherical
Albedo feature has fallen somewhat into disuse. It is however still used for Earth-based observing of Mars by amateur astronomers. However, for some Solar System bodies (such as Pluto prior to the New Horizons mission), the best available images show only albedo features. These images were usually taken by the Hubble Space Telescope or by ground-based telescopes using adaptive optics. Cydonia Mensae on Mars is an example of an albedo feature. Albedo feature An albedo feature is a large area on the surface of a planet (or other solar system body) which shows a contrast in brightness or darkness (albedo) with adjacent