albedo

[al-bee-doh]

noun, plural al·be·dos.

Astronomy. the ratio of the light reflected by a planet or satellite to that received by it.

Meteorology. such a ratio for any part of the earth's surface or atmosphere.

the white, inner rind of a citrus fruit.

Origin of albedo

1855–60; < Late Latin albēdō whiteness, equivalent to alb(us) white + -ēdō noun suffix; cf. torpedo

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for albedo

Historical Examples of albedo

Its "albedo," in other words, is 0·17, which is precisely that ascribed to the moon.
A Popular History of Astronomy During the Nineteenth Century
Agnes M. (Agnes Mary) Clerke
If anything of the right size shows up, decelerate until we can get mass and albedo measurements.
Rip Foster in Ride the Gray Planet
Harold Leland Goodwin
Its theoretical mean temperature, taking into account both distance from the sun and albedo, is 34° C. below freezing.
A Popular History of Astronomy During the Nineteenth Century
Agnes M. (Agnes Mary) Clerke
The telescopes showed Sennech's albedo down to a fraction of normal; that, he supposed, would indicate smoke in the atmosphere.
Tulan
Carroll Mather Capps
If the asteroid's albedo matched it, that would be one piece of evidence.
Rip Foster in Ride the Gray Planet
Harold Leland Goodwin

British Dictionary definitions for albedo

albedo

noun

the ratio of the intensity of light reflected from an object, such as a planet, to that of the light it receives from the sun

physics the probability that a neutron passing through a surface will return through that surface

Word Origin for albedo

C19: from Church Latin: whiteness, from Latin albus white

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for albedo

"ratio of light reflected from a surface," 1859, from Latin albedo, literally "whiteness," from albus "white" (see alb).

Science definitions for albedo

albedo

[ăl-bē′dō]

The fraction of the total light striking a surface that gets reflected from that surface. An object that has a high albedo (near 1) is very bright; an object that has a low albedo (near 0) is dark. The Earth's albedo is about 0.37. The Moon's is about 0.12.