The formula assumes spherical geometry, an effective uniform emission temperature, steady balance, specified bolometric emissivity, no important internal heating and appropriate redistribution or averaging. An atmosphere is not mathematically required: for any surface-temperaturepattern the same global balance holds with Teq4=⟨T4⟩ if emissivity is uniform. Without redistribution on an ideal airless surface, local dayside equilibrium instead gives T(ζ)=[FS(1−A)cosζ/(ϵσRAU2)]1/4 and the instantaneous night side would approach zero in the no-storage limit. Atmospheric absence alone does not justify replacing the factor four by one for a globaltemperature.