Question

Show that the equilibrium temperature of the surface of the moon is 273 K assuming it has an albedo of 0.08.

Answer 1

Answer:

The equilibrium temperature of the surface of the moon can be found by the formula as follows:

$T=(\frac{K_s(1-alebdo)}{4 \sigma})^{\frac{1}{4}}$

Where $K_s = 1366 W/m^2$ is the solar constant and $\sigma = 5.67 \times 10^ {-8}W/m^2K^{-4}$ is the Stefan's Boltzmann constant.

$T=(\frac{1366(1-0.08)}{4\times 5.67 \times 10^ {-8}})^{\frac{1}{4}} = (55.41\times 10^8)^{\frac{1}{4}} = 272.7 K=273 K$

Thus, the equilibrium temperature of the surface of the moon is 273 K.