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Astronomy

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    $\begingroup$ But Earth's atmosphere only has 0.04% CO$_2$, so that's an order of magnitude less than Mars, in absolute values. $\endgroup$
    – pela
    Commented Oct 9, 2019 at 12:12
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    $\begingroup$ @pela True, and that's why I added that info about water. But I suppose I shouldn't make that a "BTW" section. $\endgroup$
    – PM 2Ring
    Commented Oct 9, 2019 at 12:16
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    $\begingroup$ @pela <cue joke about blind astronomer> :) $\endgroup$
    – PM 2Ring
    Commented Oct 9, 2019 at 12:54
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    $\begingroup$ @pela: So what would the temperature of Mars be if it had no atmosphere, or if the atmosphere was composed entirely of non-greenhouse gasses like nitrogen or argon? $\endgroup$
    – jamesqf
    Commented Oct 10, 2019 at 16:40
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    $\begingroup$ @jamesqf It would be roughly 5 K colder, which is the difference between Mars' effective temperature and its average surface temperature. For Earth, that difference is 33 K (see my answer below for references). $\endgroup$
    – pela
    Commented Oct 11, 2019 at 13:33