Astonomy Cast "Albedo"

This podcast was all about albedo of the amount of light that is able to be reflected off of an object. The object with the most albedo is snow and ice. Snow and ice is very good at reflecting the light that hits it. Some objects in space, like Eris, have even been discovered only because of the albedo of a nearby planet.  Albedo can refer to any wavelength, but the most common is visible. The reflected light from the object's albedo causes heat to escape the Earth. As the polar ice caps melt though, the soil underneath is revealed and the light from the Sun is not reflected, but absorbed. Thus, albedo is a very important factor in regulating the Earth's temperature. Albedo is also helpful in determining the composition of other objects in space. The albedo can be used to measure the rate at which an body of mass is rotating. The amount of shininess can also tell how new the ice is on an object. The more shinny the object is, the newer the ice. Albedo is a great help in determing many aspects of celestial objects.