Importance to Terrestrial Life

Without the heat and light of the sun, life as we know it could not exist on the earth. Since solar energy is used by green plants in the process of photosynthesis, the sun is the ultimate source of the energy stored both in food and fossil fuels. Solar heating sets up convection currents, and thus is the source of the energy of moving air. Falling rain also owes its energy to the sun because of the relation of solar radiation to the water cycle.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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