What happens to sunlight in the atmosphere?

What happens to sunlight in the atmosphere?

Sunlight passes through the atmosphere and warms the Earth’s surface. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), absorb heat and further warm the surface of the Earth. This is called the greenhouse effect.

What can happen to energy from the Sun in the Earth’s atmosphere?

Energy released from the Sun is emitted as shortwave light and ultraviolet energy. When it reaches the Earth, some is reflected back to space by clouds, some is absorbed by the atmosphere, and some is absorbed at the Earth’s surface. Shortwave radiation reflected back to space by clouds.

What happens to light when it reaches Earth?

As visible light reaches Earth, a surface will absorb or reflect different wavelengths, producing a visible color. The wavelength reflected by a surface is the color that it appears to be 12. If the surface reflects all of the visible wavelengths, it will appear white 12.

What happens to sunlight that hits Earth surface?

what happens to sunlight that hits Earth’s surface? the sunlight is absorbed by Earth’s surface and then the light is reflected back by Earth’s surface.

What are three things that happen when Earth receives energy from the Sun?

The absorbed sunlight drives photosynthesis, fuels evaporation, melts snow and ice, and warms the Earth system.

• Solar power drives Earth’s climate.
• The energy that Earth receives from sunlight is balanced by an equal amount of energy radiating into space.

How does the Sun affect the Earth facts?

The sun has extremely important influences on our planet: It drives weather, ocean currents, seasons, and climate, and makes plant life possible through photosynthesis. Without the sun’s heat and light, life on Earth would not exist. The sun is about 150 million kilometers (93 million miles) from Earth.

How does the sun affect life on Earth?

(S-1) Sunlight and the Earth 1 Life as we know it needs liquid water, and Earth is the only planet to have it: without the Sun, Earth would be an icy… 2 The source of life-associated energy (and of the food we eat) is sunlight falling on green plants. Almost all of our… More

How does the sun heat up the Earth?

Sunlight carries energy, which warms up the Earth and is the driving force behind all our weather and climate. As the ground is heated by sunlight, it begins to radiate, but being too cool to radiate even a dull red, its radiation is in the infra-red range.

How does the atmosphere affect the heating of the ground?

Clouds in the atmosphere reflect some of the sunlight before it reaches the ground, reducing the heating of the ground. This process, hard to estimate, has been monitored by measuring “earthshine”, the faint glow from the dark part of the Moon when only a thin crescent is visible.

How does sunlight affect the temperature of the ground?

As the ground is heated by sunlight, it begins to radiate, but being too cool to radiate even a dull red, its radiation is in the infra-red range. A hot pot or a hot laundry iron also radiates IR, and your hand can easily sense that radiation (as heat), if held close without touching.