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It’s sort-of the point to realize that it actually is (a third of something). The lander is receiving a third of the thermal energy that it would receive at room temperature.

Warm-blooded mammals of course have a reference point based on their thermal homeostatic capabilities (ability to maintain body temperature). “Warm” and “cold” is in relation to that.


ted_dunning
I don't think that black-body radiative transfer is a linear process.

The Stefan-Boltzman relation says power scales with the fourth power of temperature. So 1/3 absolute temperature would be 1/81 the inbound radiative energy. If you are getting 800W inbound at room temp, you would get 10W inbound at 100K (=300K/3).

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