Earth's surface and the clouds absorb visible and invisible radiation from the sun and re-emit much of the energy as infrared back to atmosphere. Certain substances in the atmosphere, chiefly cloud droplets and water vapor, but also carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, and chlorofluorocarbons, absorb this infrared, and re-radiate it in all directions including back to Earth. Thus, the greenhouse effect keeps the atmosphere and surface much warmer than if the infrared absorbers were absent from the atmosphere.

Along with the surface of the Earth, what objects absorb radiation from the sun?