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
Martian surface classical albedo feature Mare Acidalium (Acidalia Planitia) is another prominent dark area that lies north of the main belt. Bright areas, excluding the polar caps and transient clouds, include Hellas, Tharsis, and Arabia Terra. The bright areas are now known to be locations where fine dust covers the surface. The dark markings represent areas that the wind has swept clean of dust, leaving behind a lag of dark, rocky material. The dark color is consistent with the presence of mafic rocks, such as basalt. The albedo of a surface usually varies with the wavelength of light hitting it. Mars reflects