system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
What makes the moon so reflective?

Is there a reason why the moon is so reflective that it lights up the earth at night?  Does the earth reflect light onto the moon in the same way?
gpt
Actually, the Moon's not very reflective at all. Its average albedo, the proportion of incoming light that it reflects, is only about .12, which is similar to that of asphalt. However, it doesn't reflect equally in all directions. Like many surfaces, it is more effective at reflecting light that's shining directly on it, which means that its surface brightness will be significantly greater during or near a full moon than otherwise. The reason it looks so bright at night is there's nothing else in the night sky anywhere near as bright. Consider what an asphalt surface in full daylight would look like if you could see it at night-- it would be quite bright indeed.

The Moon does receive reflected light from Earth--more than the Earth receives from the Moon, since the Earth has a higher albedo, around 0.3. This is called Earthshine, and it lets us see the surface of the Moon even when the Sun isn't shining directly on it.