GEOG 1114 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Shortwave Radiation, Solar Wind, Radiant Energy

• School: University of Oklahoma
• Department: GEOG
• Course: GEOG 1114
• Professor: Hernan Moreno

Document Summary

Dimensions and distances speed of light: 299,792 ~ 300,000 km/s (186,282 miles/s: milky way 100,000 light-years across. Sun is 8. 33 light-minutes away: moon is 1. 28 light-seconds away. Earth"s orbit average distance from earth ro sun is 150,000,000 km. Plane of earth"s orbit around the sun is called the plane of the ecliptic. Perihelion earth farthest from the sun on jan 3. Aphelion earth farthest from sun is july 4. Energy the capacity of a physical system to do work. Solar energy is radiant energy from the sun. Solar energy is generated by nuclear fusion reaction process in which pairs of hydrogen nuclei are joined, form helium, and emit a large amount of energy. Caused by magnetic storms on the sun: more than 12 times earth"s diameter. Temperatures are less than the temperatures of their surroundings. Clouds of electrically charged particles that reach earth.