If our sun went dark (for the purpose of this question), which represents a larger (for very small values of larger) source of power, the stars (starlight) or background radiation?
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1Do you mean the cmb or radiation from other sources – Sep 06 '16 at 19:55
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Radiation from other sources of its substantial. I'm just curious how small the levels are and couldn't find a source anywhere for the power from the distant stars that hits us. – Seph Sep 06 '16 at 20:21
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And also, do you mean from the stars in the sky you can see, say maximum a hemisphere. Thanks – Sep 06 '16 at 20:21
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Yeah, I was looking all over for that. One source says The total brightness [including airglow] of the sky on a clear, moonless night is about 2E-003 lux. Sirius, the brightest visible star, contributes about 1E-005 lux. but it does not specify the complete sphere or a hemisphere. I would guess most radiation from dust clouds etc is very cold, so my money is on the stars. – Sep 06 '16 at 20:23
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similar question Number density of CMB photons? with a very relevant answer – Sep 06 '16 at 23:03