Friday, July 10, 2015

Ominous Beauty


BRT posted a blurb titled Albedo, showing the enormous difference of ice vs water in terms of the fraction of solar energy (shortwave radiation) reflected from the Earth back into space. It is a measure of the reflectivity of the earth's surface. Ice, especially with snow on top of it, has a high albedo: most sunlight hitting the surface bounces back towards space. something hauntingly depicted in NASA's nighttime shot of noctilucent clouds surrounding the North Pole on June 10, 2015.




Here's what they look like from the ground.


Interesting, don't you think?

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