Bibcode
Pallé, E.; Montañés Rodriguez, P.; Goode, P. R.; Qiu, J.; Yurchyshyn, V.; Hickey, J.; Chu, M.-C.; Kolbe, E.; Brown, C. T.; Koonin, S. E.
Bibliographical reference
Advances in Space Research, Volume 34, Issue 2, p. 288-292.
Advertised on:
1
2004
Journal
Citations
10
Refereed citations
10
Description
The Earthshine Project is a collaborative effort between Big Bear Solar
Observatory (New Jersey Institute of Technology) and the California
Institute of Technology. Our primary goal is the precise determination
of a global and absolutely calibrated albedo of the Earth and the
characterization of its synoptic, seasonal and inter-annual variability.
Photometric observations of the Earth's reflectance have been regularly
carried out during the past 4 years. The up-to-date synoptic, seasonal
and long-term variation in the Earth's albedo are reported in this
paper, together with a comparison to model albedos using modern cloud
satellite data and Earth Radiation Budget Experiment scene models. The
Earth's albedo has a major role in determining the Earth's climate. The
possibility of a response of this parameter to solar activity is also
discussed. Simultaneously, spectrometric observations of the earthshine
have been carried out at Palomar Observatory. The main goals and first
results of those observations are also presented.