albedo – Doyle's Space

What is Albedo?

Any albedo in visible light falls within a range of about 0.9 for fresh snow to about 0.04 for charcoal, one of the darkest substances.

Albedo refers to the measure of the reflectivity of a surface, precisely how much sunlight is reflected into space compared to how much is absorbed. It is usually expressed as a percentage, where a value of 0% indicates a perfectly absorptive surface (all sunlight is absorbed), and a value of 100% indicates a perfectly reflective surface (all sunlight is reflected).

99942 Apophis

An impact would release energy equivalent to over 1,200 megatons of TNT.

99942 Apophis is an S-type (silicaceous¹) asteroid with an approximate diameter of 1,210 feet. This is an asteroid that primarily consists of silicate minerals and nickel-iron. It has a relatively low albedo² of 0.23, indicating a somewhat reflective surface.