Figure 1. The geometry of the sun-earth system and the
planetary radiative temperatures of Earth, Venus and Mars. A proportion
of the short wave radiation from the sun (orange arrows) is reflected back
to space, as determined by the albedo or reflectivity of the planet, but
the absorbed short wave radiation heats the planets which in turn radiate
long wave energy back to space (red arrows). Sizes and distances are not
to scale.
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