This figure shows the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/solar_radiation" class="extiw" title="w:solar radiation">solar radiation</a> spectrum for direct <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/light" class="extiw" title="w:light">light</a> at both the top of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%27s_atmosphere" class="extiw" title="w:Earth's atmosphere">Earth's atmosphere</a> (represented by the area in yellow) and at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sea_level" class="extiw" title="w:sea level">sea level</a> (area in red).  The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sun" class="extiw" title="w:sun">sun</a> produces light with a distribution similar to what would be expected from a 5525 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/kelvin" class="extiw" title="w:kelvin">K</a> (5250 °<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celcius" class="extiw" title="w:Celcius">C</a>) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/blackbody_spectrum" class="extiw" title="w:blackbody spectrum">blackbody</a>, which is approximately the sun's surface temperature.  As light passes through the atmosphere, some is absorbed by gases with specific <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/absorption_band" class="extiw" title="w:absorption band">absorption bands</a>.  Additional light is redistributed by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rayleigh_scattering" class="extiw" title="w:Rayleigh scattering">Rayleigh scattering</a>, which is responsible for the atmosphere's blue color.
These curves are based on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Renewable_Energy_Laboratory" class="extiw" title="w:National Renewable Energy Laboratory">NREL</a> data for <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nrel.gov/grid/solar-resource/spectra-astm-e490.html">above the atmosphere</a> and <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nrel.gov/grid/solar-resource/spectra-am1.5.html">at sea level</a>, which are standards adopted by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/photovoltaics" class="extiw" title="w:photovoltaics">photovoltaics</a> industry to ensure consistent test conditions and are similar to the light that could be expected in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America" class="extiw" title="w:North America">North America</a>.  Regions for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ultraviolet" class="extiw" title="w:ultraviolet">ultraviolet</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/visible_light" class="extiw" title="w:visible light">visible</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/infrared" class="extiw" title="w:infrared">infrared</a> light are indicated.
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Dragons_flight" class="extiw" title="w:User:Dragons flight">Robert A. Rohde</a>
CC BY-SA 3.0
This file has been <b>extracted</b> from another file