Measuring Earth's equilibrium temperature without an atmosphere:
A)is easily done using Wien's law.
B)is best done assuming the earth is a flat disk.
C)is complicated by uncertainty over the value of the earth's albedo.
D)can be done only by assuming the earth does not approximate a black body.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Earth's albedo, which reflects the amount of sunlight reflected back into space, introduces significant uncertainty in calculating Earth's equilibrium temperature without an atmosphere. This factor complicates the estimation because it affects how much solar energy is absorbed by the Earth.

Measuring Earth's Equilibrium Temperature Without an Atmosphere