Abstract

Contributed Talk - Splinter Bildung

Monday, 13 September 2021, 12:00   (virtual Edu)

Measurement of the Earthshine as an Undergraduate Level Observational Project

Simon Kraus
University of Siegen - Physics Education

The albedo is an elementary quantity when it comes to the assessment of the life friendliness of planets or to the modeling of the terrestrial climate. In most cases, however, the albedo of the Earth is used as a constant value in exercises. In addition, experiments for albedo determination usually refer to specific surface details, but without extrapolating to the entire Earth's surface or considering the contributions of the atmosphere. In this talk, a method for estimating Earth's albedo by intensity measurements of Earth's shine and the directly illuminated Moon will be presented. For practical implementation, simple devices are sufficient if the method is in the focus and no highly accurate values are to be achieved. The data processing and evaluation can be designed on different levels so that the albedo determination might be suitable as a project on a university level.