albedo

[ al-bee-doh ]

/ ælˈbi doʊ /

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.

Nearby words

albata, albategnius, albatross, albatross around one's neck, albay, albedo, albedometer, albee, albee, edward, albeit, albemarle

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

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

/ (ælˈbiːdəʊ) /

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

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.