The solar luminosity (total radiant power emitted by the Sun) is 3.828·1026 W, which provides about 1361 W m–2 (the total solar irradiance) (Ref. 1). To a zeroth approximation, the Sun can be considered a black body with an effective temperature of 5772 K, which implies a peak in the spectrum at around 0.520 μm (5200 Å). The actual solar spectral emission is more complex, especially at ultraviolet and shorter wavelengths. The graph in Figure 1, with data from Ref. 2 spectrally resolved, summarizes the solar irradiance at 1 AU over the range 0.2 μm to 2.7 μm.
The solar irradiance undergoes both long-term and short-term variations. Figure 2, which is taken from Ref. 3 and is based on the methodology described in Ref. 4, shows the variation over the 1978–2020 period of spaceborne measurements. References 5-10 have additional data and background on the solar spectrum and solar irradiance.
FIGURE 1. Wavelength dependence of solar irradiance.
FIGURE 2. Variation of solar irradiance in the period 1979–2020.