Because there is little overlap in wavelength between the
radiation emitted by the earth and the radiation emitted by
the sun, almost all light in the earth’s atmosphere with a
wavelength less than 3 microns is solar in origin, and is
known as
solar
radiation
.
At the
same time, almost
all light in the earth’s
atmosphere with a
wavelength greater
than 3 microns
comes from the
earth or its
atmosphere, and is
called
terrestrial
radiation.