EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -The Earth’s surface (Land and Oceans) is constantly emitting (or giving off) infrared radiation. This process acts to cool the surface because energy is being removed from the surface when it emits radiation.

Detailed explanation-2: -Because Earth is much cooler than the Sun, it re-radiates energy as longwave, lower-energy wavelengths than it absorbs. This absorbed energy is re-radiated as infrared radiation, which we feel as heat.

Detailed explanation-3: -Earth scientists study infrared as the thermal emission (or heat) from our planet. As incident solar radiation hits Earth, some of this energy is absorbed by the atmosphere and the surface, thereby warming the planet. This heat is emitted from Earth in the form of infrared radiation.

Detailed explanation-4: -Much of this infrared radiation does not reach space, however, because it is absorbed by greenhouse gases in atmosphere, and is then emitted as infrared radiation back toward the Earth’s surface. This process is known as the greenhouse effect.

Detailed explanation-5: -The sun emits this shortwave radiation in the form of UV rays and visible light, which is then absorbed by the earth’s surface. Since the earth is significantly cooler than the sun, some of this radiation is reflected back from the surface in the form of longwave radiation, or infrared rays.