how much solar radiation does the planet mercury get?

J

jojo

New member
so i have a science project on the planet mercury and one thing i have to find is the amount of ssolar radiation on the planet and i have no idea where to find it? and how much light does it get? thanks
 
You need to put the inverse square law to use.


Earth's solar radiation intensity is of value 1357 Watts/meter^2. This is a standard value known by the solar energy industry. This is the EXTRATERRESTRIAL value, which is put to use for equipment on the Moon or in Earth orbit.

At ground level, there is Raleigh Attenuation due to the atmosphere, and it is closer to 1000 Watts/meter^2, but that is a minor detail.



Now you simply need to think of the sun "spraying" radiation outward. Think of the surface area of a large sphere centered on the sun and intersecting the orbits of each planet. THEN, think of the projected "face" of each planet that has a direct line of site toward the Sun. Now take the fractions for each planet and compare.


Remember: each equivalent fraction of any given grand radiation sphere gets equivalent solar radiation from the sun. Simply proportion the fractions, and multiply the proportion by Earth's value.
 
Back
Top