Sunlight: Quick Facts

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Facts

Also Known As	sunshine

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Diagram illustrating the greenhouse effect, showing sunlight reaching Earth, some visible light absorbed by the surface, some reflected, and infrared radiation absorbed and reradiated by the atmosphere.

$Diagram showing sunlight entering a water droplet, refracting, reflecting inside it, and emerging as separated red-to-violet light. Rays reaching an observer at about 42 degrees for red and 40 degrees for violet form a rainbow opposite the sun.$

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Topics

heliotrope pyrheliometer Why Are Clouds White?Why is the ocean blue?crepuscular rays light Solar radiation brightness blue light colour What causes a rainbow?photon luminous intensity How Is Light Both a Particle and a Wave?speed of light

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Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.

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