File talk:Insolation.png

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Question: The maps show low values[edit]

I thought the ground level solar radiation was about 1120 W/m2 when the sun is at the zenith (anti-parallel to gravitational attraction when the spherical earth approximation is applied), or approximately directly overhead. This includes all wavelengths of light; including direct sunlight (1050 W/m2), diffracted sunlight (the scattered light arriving from all parts of the sky), and re-emitted light that has been absorbed by the atmosphere). [1]

The map shows a surface level solar radiation of about 400 W/m2. Is this due to averaging over a year (including night and twilight)? Drbits (talk) 23:51, 19 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]

References[edit]

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_irradiance#Irradiance_on_Earth's "Wikipedia Solar Irradiance"