The importance of atmospheres for the planetary temperature

RobinSky

Hi

I'm curious of how much of an effect our atmosphere has to do with the global temperature. I mean, just the LOCATION of where you are on the planet makes an immense difference.

On venus, with a much more dense atmosphere (and a lot closer to the sun) it's superhot instead, is it mainly due to the distance difference or due to the difference of the atmospheric properties?

And maybe albedo has something to do with it as well? Imagine if venus had a darker color, maybe it would be much hotter? If so, how much can the temperature vary depending on the albedo of the planet?

Well, I don't know. That's why I ask you for help!

Thanks in advance!

Regards, Robin Andersson

mfb

Both albedo and the atmosphere can influence the average temperature of a planet a lot (-> greenhouse effect).
I am sure there are publications simulating planets with different atmospheric compositions and albedos.

RobinSky

Could you tell where I could go further and search for such publications? I'm really interested to find out more about this. However after I did my first post about this I noticed with my current (lower degree of) knowledge that there are lots, literally lots, of factors that play a role for the atmosphere and the ability to trap heat.

Regards
Robin

mfb

Hmm, well... ask an expert.
To find something, google queries can give some useful results, for example this introduction or that publication.

RobinSky

Oh thanks a lot, this looks useful! I'll read this and come back if there are any questions left. Thanks a lot!

Regards
Robin

Brainiac2

Atmosphere is the reason why Venus' temperature is a bit higher than Mercury's even though Mercury is closer to the sun.