The
greenhouse effect is an increase in the temperature of a planet as
heat energy from sunlight is trapped by the gaseous atmosphere.
Excess carbon dioxide and water vapor increase this global warming
effect.
Solar Energy (sunlight) is short-wavelength radiation which easily
penetrates the Earth's atmosphere and warms the Earth; only about one
quarter of incoming sunlight is reflected by the atmosphere. The
warmed Earth emits long-wavelength radiation (infrared waves or heat
energy) back into space; these longer waves are mostly reflected back
to Earth by the atmosphere.
The size of the atmosphere in the illustration above is greatly
exaggerated in order to show the greenhouse effect. Most of the
Earth's atmosphere is within 10 miles (16 km) of the Earth's
surface).