An idealized spectrum of electromagnetic radiation from the Sun, with a temperature of 6000 °C (~11,000 °F) , and the much cooler Earth, with a surface temperature of 15 °C (~60 °F). Wavelength along the horizontal axis (measured in microns where 1000 microns = 1mm) plotted against the amount of radiation emitted on the vertical axis. Note how the Sun emits the most radiation in the visible range (with some overlap in the UV and IR) while the Earth emits mostly infrared radiation. |