Cnoidal wave is the wave height, "λ" is the wavelength, "c" is the phase speed and "η" is the trough elevation. Further cn is one of the Jacobi elliptic functions and "K"("m") is the complete elliptic integral of the first kind; both are dependent on the elliptic parameter "m". The latter, "m", determines the shape of the cnoidal wave. For "m" equal to zero the cnoidal wave becomes a cosine function, while for values close to one the cnoidal wave gets peaked crests and (very) flat troughs. For values of "m" less than 0.95, the cnoidal function can be approximated with trigonometric
Solar constant annual range). The solar constant does not remain constant over long periods of time (see Solar variation), but over a year the solar constant varies much less than the solar irradiance measured at the top of the atmosphere. This is because the solar constant is evaluated at a fixed distance of 1 Astronomical Unit (AU) while the solar irradiance will be affected by the eccentricity of the Earth's orbit. Its distance to the Sun varies annually between 147.1·10 km at aphelion and 152.1·10 km at perihelion. The Earth receives a total amount of radiation determined by its cross section (π·R²),