With temperatures hovering around 90°, we're advised to wear light-colored clothes to help beat the heat.
Albedo is a term used to describe how much incoming light bounces back off of an object. Lighter colored objects have a higher albedo.
Most of the earth's brightness comes from the clouds reflecting sunlight back out into space. If you've ever turned your high beam lights on in heavy fog, you know that clouds are highly reflective.
Fresh snow can have an albedo as high as 90%. This is why snow tends to stay unmelted on a warm spring day.
Dark soil has a low albedo, from 10 - 30%. It absorbs much of the incoming sunlight and energy.
The Earth has a 30% albedo on average.
The Moon has a lower albedo of about 10%. This is due to the fact that it has no atmosphere, and therefore no clouds to reflect sunlight.
