x01·advanced
Is Earth warming from the Sun, or from us?
◐Earth Science ↔☉Heliophysics
atmosphereclimatecarbon Datasets: 1 30–90 min
The synthesis
Measure the Sun's actual energy output (Heliophysics) and set it against Earth's outgoing energy (Earth). The gap, and how it tracks the solar cycle, separates Sun-driven change from human-driven warming.
Is Earth warming from the Sun, or from us?
What you can answer
- Compare the Sun’s measured output (TSIS-1) with Earth’s net energy budget (CERES) to see which way the imbalance points.
- Test how much recent warming follows the ~11-year solar cycle versus a steady greenhouse trend.
What you can NOT answer with these datasets alone
- Pin a single year’s temperature on one cause — oceans store heat and the system lags.
- Replace a full climate model — this is the energy boundary condition, not the whole simulation.
The cross-division bridge
This question is Earth-anchored, reaching into Heliophysics. The Earth side is CERES EBAF (outgoing/reflected energy at the top of the atmosphere). The Heliophysics side is TSIS-1 aboard the ISS, which measures total and spectral solar irradiance — the actual energy input. Differencing input against output isolates the planet’s energy imbalance and how much of it co-varies with the solar cycle.
Sources
From another NASA division
☉ Heliophysics
TSIS-1 Total & Spectral Solar Irradiance
The Sun's measured energy output from the ISS — the actual top-of-atmosphere input to Earth's climate.
TSIS1_TSIS · full-disk, daily
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