Lost in the Glare . How hard would it be for an alien astronomer to detect the light from planets in our solar system compared to the light from the Sun itself?

A: Calculate the fraction of the total emitted sunlight that reaches Earth. ( Hint : Imagine a sphere around the Sun the size of Earth’s orbit (area = 4 πa 2), then calculate the fraction of that area taken up by the disk of Earth (area = π r ² planet). Earth's reflectivity is 29%).

B: Earth reflects 29% of the Sun’s light. Based on this fact and your answer to part A, calculate what fraction of total sunlight is reflected by Earth. ( Hint :Your answer will simply be the overall fraction of all the Sun’s light that is reflected by Earth.)

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A The expression used to calculate the are... View the full answer