Researchers Find Level of ‘Earthshine’ in Flux
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
The amount of light reflected by the Earth was lower than normal from 1984 to 2001, then increased from 2001 to 2003, according to researchers from Caltech and the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
The researchers measured “earthshine,” the illumination of the moon’s dark side by reflected light from Earth.
The changes in Earth’s reflected light, also known as albedo, probably resulted from the amount of clouds covering the planet. More clouds reflect more light back into space, potentially cooling the planet, while a dimmer planet with fewer clouds would be warmed by the arriving sunlight.
