ABSTRACT
Satellite evidence is providing more accurate pictures of the relevant distributions of atmospheric energy, moisture and circulation patterns, and is helping to establish the chief sources and sinks of various energy forms. Pre-satellite studies were plagued by the fact that, despite its name, the solar constant is thought to be a variable. One of the principal radiation parameters most directly measurable by satellite means is the total outward flux of long-wave terrestrial radiation. The geographical pattern of solar radiation absorption, so important from the climatological point of view, can be established through considering jointly incoming and reflected radiation intensities. The principles employed in mapping surfaces of the earth and/or its cloud cover from infra-red measurements are basically quite simple. Essentially, all objects omit electromagnetic radiation with spectral distributions and intensities that are unique functions of their temperatures and surface configurations. The intensities of their radiation must be functions of temperature alone, since surface variations are absent from such ideal cases.
