(Solved): Consider a planet covered in water ice with a uniform albedo of 0.75. The planet is tide-locked (tha ...

Consider a planet covered in water ice with a uniform albedo of 0.75. The planet is tide-locked (that is, the same face always points to the Sun, while the other side is in perpetual night). (a) Compute the solar constant needed to begin to melt some of this ice. (You can assume that there is no atmosphere, so that each bit of the planet’s surface is in equilibrium with the solar radiation it absorbs.)

1. Consider a planet covered in water ice with a uniform albedo of \( 0.75 \). The planet is tide-locked (that is, the same face always points to the Sun, while the other side is in perpetual night). (a) Compute the solar constant needed to begin to melt some of this ice. (You can assume that there is no atmosphere, so that each bit of the planet's surface is in equilibrium with the solar radiation it absorbs.) (b) What would be the temperature after the ice has melted? (Assume an albedo of 0.3)