Physics, the treasure of calculating the energy of a spherical body (Approximation of the Sun) Think of the Sun as an irradiating sphere, and the waves of solar radiation as spheres which expand outward into space. As the sphere radiates outward, the surface area of this imaginary sphere representing the radiation becomes well-dispersed over the area of any given point on it, as the sphere expands (distance increases) If the energy output at the Sun’s surface were to decrease by even a small amount, this would change the radiation received at the surface of the Earth by a significant amount, given how much the Sun’s radiative energy disperses with distance.
It’s not the atmosphere so much as it is the Sun’s energy naturally dispersing with distance.
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Your point being?
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