Does the Earth accumulate the energy it receives from the Sun, or does it reflect all of it back into space?

Question

I understand that the sun gives energy primarily in the form of sunlight, which contains various wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation. If the earth absorbs some of the energy, does the earth’s “total energy” accumulate?

In: Planetary Science

Answer 1

Yes, the earth does accumulate the solar energy that hits the earth.

But also yes, the earth does lose some energy to space. It does not reflect ALL the sunlight back into space. But it does reflect some of the light that hits it back into space. And it also does lose some energy to space in the form of radiation. With “black body” heat radiation radiate off the planet