Planets - Compare Albedo

Calculator for the comparison of the Bond albedo of planets and the moon. The albedo is the diffuse reflection of light on the surface. It can have values between 0 and 1, whereas 0 is for a clean black and 1 for a clean white surface. The ratio between two albedos can have any positive value. A ratio of 2 means e.g. that one celestial body reflects twice as much of the light which is shining to it than the other. The albedo is an average value for the whole surface, structures are ignored.

Albedo:
Moon:
Mercury:
Venus:
Earth:
Mars:
Jupiter:
Saturn:
Uranus:
Neptune:
Pluto:

Round to   0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15   decimal places.

Please enter one value, the other values will be calculated.

Example: Pluto has about six times the albedo of mercury.

The temperature of a non-self-luminous celestial body, such as a planet or moon, is primarily determined by the radiation incident upon it, which depends on the nature of its host star and the distance from that star. A second key factor is the body's ability to retain or re-emit this radiation. Albedo plays a crucial role here, as does the presence of an atmosphere. Albedo encompasses not only visible light but all wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum that reach the surface and are subsequently reflected or absorbed. However, since stars often emit the bulk of their radiation in the visible or near-infrared ranges, these wavelengths are particularly significant. An atmosphere blocks certain wavelengths. Earth's atmosphere, for instance, allows in particular visible light to pass through. Thus, albedo is often closely linked to the perceived brightness of a surface. Snow and ice, including clouds, exhibit particularly high albedo, whereas liquid water has a relatively low albedo. A rise in temperature can cause ice to melt, thereby lowering the albedo and leading to a further increase in temperature. This phenomenon is known as the ice-albedo feedback.

Last updated on 07/27/2026. Author: Jürgen Kummer

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