Atmospheric window

An atmospheric window is a part of the electromagnetic spectrum that can pass through the atmosphere of Earth. The optical, infrared and radio windows are the three basic atmospheric windows.^[2] The Sun's electromagnetic energy reaches the Earth through the atmospheric windows. The Earth's thermal radiation leaves its atmosphere through the windows.^[3] Atmospheric windows are useful for astronomy, remote sensing, telecommunications and other science and technology applications.

Τhe absorption bands of Earth's atmosphere (grey colour) delimit its atmospheric windows (middle panel) and the effect they have on both downgoing solar radiation and upgoing thermal radiation emitted near the surface is shown in the top panel. The individual absorption spectra of major greenhouse gases plus Rayleigh scattering are shown in the lower panel.^[1]

In the study of the greenhouse effect, atmospheric window often means the infrared window, because the infrared window is the main exit for the thermal radiation emitted near the surface of the Earth.^[4][5] In other fields of science and technology, such as radio astronomy^[6] and remote sensing,^[7] "atmospheric window" is used to describe windows of the whole electromagnetic spectrum.

Related pages

• Optical window
• Radio window
• Infrared window