What is albedo?

Albedo is how much light something reflects back into space, like a bouncing ball that bounces off a wall.

Imagine you're playing with a ball in your room. If the floor is shiny and white, the ball bounces high, that’s like high albedo. But if the floor is dark and carpeted, the ball doesn’t bounce as much, that’s low albedo.

White things, like snow or clouds, are good reflectors. They send most of the sunlight back out into space, just like a white shirt reflects light and keeps you cool on a sunny day.

Dark things, like soil or forests, absorb more light. It’s like wearing a black shirt in the sun, it gets hotter because it soaks up more heat.

So, albedo is kind of like the light version of a bounce game, some things reflect lots of light, others don’t. And that affects how hot or cold a place feels!