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Sunlight that hits the Earth's surface is absorbed by the Earth. It is then reflected back.

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Why the moon is lit up?

The moon is lit by sunlight just like the earth. Because of it's rotation relative to the earth, only one face of it is visible to people on earth. Thus, the expression, "the dark side of the moon". When the Earth is between the Sun and the moon, it is more or less invisible, since no direct light is striking it. We call this period of a few days a "new moon".


What happens when a ray of sunlight hits earth's atmosphere?

When a ray of sunlight hits Earth's atmosphere, it undergoes several processes, including scattering, absorption, and reflection. Some of the light is scattered in different directions by air molecules and particles, contributing to the blue color of the sky. A portion of the sunlight is absorbed by gases and aerosols, which helps heat the atmosphere. The remaining sunlight reaches the Earth's surface, providing the energy necessary for life and driving weather patterns.


How is the moon able to provide light to the earth?

The moon does not generate its own light. Instead, it reflects sunlight that hits its surface back towards Earth. This reflected sunlight is what we perceive as moonlight.


What happens when sunlight hits a dark surface?

When sunlight hits a dark surface, the surface absorbs more of the light and converts it into heat compared to a light-colored surface. This absorption of light energy causes the dark surface to heat up more quickly, which is why dark surfaces can feel hotter to the touch than light-colored surfaces under direct sunlight.


What happens to the suns energy when it hits earth on a pie graph?

When the sun's energy hits the Earth, approximately 30% is reflected back into space, 20% is absorbed by the atmosphere, and the remaining 50% reaches the Earth's surface where it is absorbed and used for various processes like heating the planet and powering the water cycle.

Related Questions

What happens to sunlight hits earth surface?

It gets absorbed by the surface, reflected, and even radiated back as infrared rays where it is absorbed by the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.


How does the angle of incidence increase the temperature of earth?

The angle of incidence refers to the angle at which sunlight hits the Earth's surface. When sunlight hits the Earth's surface at a higher angle of incidence (more direct sunlight), the energy from the sunlight is more concentrated, leading to increased heating of the surface. This can result in higher temperatures on Earth.


What happens when sunlight hits a surface?

The sunlight will be absorbed by the surface.If the surface is a mirror,lesser light will be absorbed.More will be reflected. If the surface is black,more light will be absorbed.


What happens to sunlight that hits earth's surface?

When sunlight hits Earth's surface, it can be absorbed, reflected, or scattered. Some of the sunlight is absorbed by the ground, causing it to heat up. The rest is reflected back into the atmosphere or scattered in different directions.


When the sun light hits the earth what does it do?

About 35% of the light that hits the Earth is reflected away immediately, back into space. The remainder of the light hits the Earth. Some of it is absorbed or scattered in the atmosphere, and much of it reaches the surface as light. Sunlight that is absorbed by the surface heats the Earth.


What happens to the energy when sunlight hits earth at an angle smaller than ninety degrees?

When sunlight hits Earth at an angle smaller than ninety degrees, the energy is spread over a larger surface area, resulting in less energy per unit area. This leads to lower intensity of sunlight and reduced heating compared to when sunlight hits directly overhead.


Why the moon is lit up?

The moon is lit by sunlight just like the earth. Because of it's rotation relative to the earth, only one face of it is visible to people on earth. Thus, the expression, "the dark side of the moon". When the Earth is between the Sun and the moon, it is more or less invisible, since no direct light is striking it. We call this period of a few days a "new moon".


What happens when a ray of sunlight hits earth's atmosphere?

When a ray of sunlight hits Earth's atmosphere, it undergoes several processes, including scattering, absorption, and reflection. Some of the light is scattered in different directions by air molecules and particles, contributing to the blue color of the sky. A portion of the sunlight is absorbed by gases and aerosols, which helps heat the atmosphere. The remaining sunlight reaches the Earth's surface, providing the energy necessary for life and driving weather patterns.


How is the moon able to provide light to the earth?

The moon does not generate its own light. Instead, it reflects sunlight that hits its surface back towards Earth. This reflected sunlight is what we perceive as moonlight.


How does sunlight hit earths surface closer to the poles?

Sunlight hits Earth's surface closer to the poles at a low angle, resulting in the energy being more spread out. This causes less intense sunlight and lower temperatures in polar regions compared to equatorial regions where sunlight hits more directly. The angle of sunlight hitting Earth's surface also contributes to the longer periods of darkness experienced in polar regions during their respective winter seasons.


What happens to the temperature as the angle at which the sun's rays strike earth's surface increases?

Each beam of sunlight has the same amount of energy (which is where we get our warmth). The energy of the sun is more spread accross the Earth's surface with increased angles (oblique). This is what happens at the poles where the sun light hits the Earth at 180 degrees. It is cold at the poles because the sun's energy is spread out over a large area. As the angle of the sun decreases the energy of the sun hits the earth directly and is concentrate. This is what happens when the sun hits the equator at 90 degrees and that is why it is warm at the equator.


What happens to the sunlight when it hits the curved surface of the earth?

When sunlight reaches the curved surface of the Earth, it is both absorbed and reflected. Due to the curvature, sunlight strikes different areas at varying angles, which affects the intensity of light and heat received. This uneven distribution contributes to temperature variations across the planet, influencing weather patterns and climate. Additionally, some sunlight is scattered in the atmosphere, further altering how we perceive light and color in our environment.