greenhouse effect
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The greenhouse effect is how certain gases in Earth's atmosphere trap heat from the sun, similar to how a greenhouse keeps warmth inside. This matters because changes in these gases can affect global temperatures and climate patterns that impact life on Earth.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
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Energy flows down from the sun and up from the Earth and its atmosphere. When greenhouse gases absorb radiation emitted by Earth's surface, they prevent that radiation from escaping into space, causing surface temperatures to rise by about 33 °C (59 °F).
The greenhouse effect occurs when heat-trapping gases in a planet's atmosphere prevent the planet from losing heat to space, raising its surface temperature. Surface heating can happen from an internal heat source (as in the case of Jupiter) or come from an external source, such as a host star. In the case of Earth, the Sun emits shortwave radiation (sunlight) that passes through greenhouse gases to heat the Earth's surface. In response, the Earth's surface emits longwave radiation that is mostly absorbed by greenhouse gases, reducing the rate at which the Earth can cool off.