3 ms·
Yes. The solid angle subtended by the planet (and hence the amount of reflected light) goes as 1/r^2, and then the apparent brightness of the reflected light t
by antognini 11y ago
Yes. The solid angle subtended by the planet (and hence the amount of reflected light) goes as 1/r^2, and then the apparent brightness of the reflected light to us goes as an additional 1/r^2. The total dependence is then 1/r^2 * 1/r^2 = 1/r^4.
- gohrt 11y agoThis is a really good physics puzzler. The key point is that Pluto does not reflect light like a mirror, it scatters light relatively uniformly, causing more light loss to an observer than, say, a mirror that points the reflection directly at an Earth observer.