what is atmosphere

The third atmosphere came into play when the planet began to stretch its legs, so to speak. Earth’s atmosphere has six layers: the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the thermosphere, the ionosphere, and the exosphere. Since a collection of gas molecules may be moving at a wide range of velocities, there will always be some fast enough to produce a slow leakage of gas into space. Two satellites of the outer planets possess significant atmospheres. Based on the relative volumes of the gases in Earth’s atmosphere, nitrogen is actually more than 3 times more than oxygen. Astronomy Cast offers a good episode about atmospheres around the Universe. It is measured with a barometer. Earth's atmosphere has a series of layers, each with its own specific traits. The current composition of the Earth's atmosphere is the product of billions of years of biochemical modification of the paleoatmosphere by living organisms. Lighter molecules move faster than heavier ones with the same thermal kinetic energy, and so gases of low molecular weight are lost more rapidly than those of high molecular weight. Earth’s atmosphere is composed of about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and one percent other gases. For the scientific journal, see, Layer of gases surrounding an astronomical body held by gravity, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Earth's Atmosphere Composition: Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon and CO2", "On Atmospheric Loss of Oxygen Ions from Earth Through Magnetospheric Processes", "Why an intrinsic magnetic field does not protect a planet against atmospheric escape", "Scientists Detected An Incoming Asteroid The Size Of A Car Last Week - Why That Matters To Us", "What Is The Atmosphere Like On Other Planets? The blue color of the sky is due to Rayleigh scattering which means as light moves through the atmosphere, most of the longer wavelengths pass straight through. When meteoroids do impact, the effects are often erased by the action of wind. There are lots of other gases that are part of the atmosphere, but in much smaller amounts. Most meteoroids burn up as meteors before hitting a planet's surface. The exosphere gradually fades away into the realm of interplanetary space. On Earth, units of air pressure are based on the internationally recognized standard atmosphere (atm), which is defined as 101.325 kPa (760 Torr or 14.696 psi). The circulation of the atmosphere occurs due to thermal differences when convection becomes a more efficient transporter of heat than thermal radiation. In space research and exploration, atmospheric drag affects both the entry into orbit via rocket … [6] As a result, craters are rare on objects with atmospheres. The planet's atmospheres were then modified over time by various complex factors, resulting in quite different outcomes. The troposphere begins at the surface and extends to between 7 km at the poles and 17 km at the equator, with some variation due to weather. See more. An atmosphere (from Ancient Greek ἀτμός (atmos), meaning 'vapour', and σφαῖρα (sphaira), meaning 'ball' or 'sphere' ) is a layer or a set of layers of gases surrounding a planet or other material body, that is held in place by the gravity of that body. Atmosphere's implementation uses a 32KB heap, which should not be exhaustible. Climate changes can influence a planet's geological history. The stratosphere, extending from the top of the troposphere to the bottom of the mesosphere, contains the ozone layer. The exosphere is the last bastion of the atmosphere. Each of the layers has a different lapse rate, defining the rate of change in temperature with height. Stars with sufficiently low temperatures may have outer atmospheres with compound molecules. So, no matter where you look, you see the scattered blue light. The atmosphere is divided into 5 major zones. See no ads on this site, see our videos early, special bonus material, and much more. Without an atmosphere, the planet has no protection from meteoroids, and all of them collide with the surface as meteorites and create craters. It is thought that Venus and Mars may have lost much of their water when, after being photodissociated into hydrogen and oxygen by solar ultraviolet radiation, the hydrogen escaped. Mars is a planet that shows climate change on a large scale. Other astronomical bodies such as sun, moon, Mercury, etc have known atmospheres. This article is about an atmosphere of a celestial body. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atmosphere&oldid=991485324, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from April 2016, All articles needing additional references, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from September 2017, Беларуская (тарашкевіца)‎, Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 30 November 2020, at 08:54. [4] The net effect, taking the most important escape processes into account, is that an intrinsic magnetic field does not protect a planet from atmospheric escape and that for some magnetizations the presence of a magnetic field works to increase the escape rate.[5]. Most meteors burn up in this zone of the atmosphere. The easiest way to think about the atmosphere above our planet is to imagine an invisible shield that protects our planet from all the bad stuff that floats around in the universe. Join us at patreon.com/universetoday. For example, the large gravitational force of the giant planet Jupiter retains light gases such as hydrogen and helium that escape from objects with lower gravity. It is divided into five layers.Most of the weather and clouds are found in the first layer.. All of these gases combine to absorb ultraviolet radiation from the Sun and warm the planet’s surface through heat retention. [clarification needed]. The Earth's atmosphere is an extremely thin sheet of air extending from the surface of the Earth to the edge of space. On planets where the primary heat source is solar radiation, excess heat in the tropics is transported to higher latitudes. Because the troposphere is the lowest atmosphere layer, it contains 75 percent of the atmosphere’s mass. The thermosphere extends from 85 km to the base of the exosphere at 400 km and contains the ionosphere, a region where the atmosphere is ionized by incoming solar radiation. Essentially, the atmosphere is is a collection of gases that makes the Earth habitable. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. This signifies a shift from a reducing atmosphere to an oxidizing atmosphere. The depth of this layer varies between 17 km at the equator to 7 km at the poles. Three quarters of the atmosphere's mass resides within the troposphere, and is the layer within which the Earth's terrestrial weather develops. The term stellar atmosphere describes the outer region of a star and typically includes the portion above the opaque photosphere. ATMOSPHERE 'ATMOSPHERE' is a 10 letter word starting with A and ending with E Synonyms, crossword answers and other related words for ATMOSPHERE We hope that the following list of synonyms for the word atmosphere will help you to finish your crossword today. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! It is held near the surface of the planet by Earth's gravitational attraction. Layers.Most of the Earth ’ s atmosphere blocks much of this layer varies between 17 km at poles! High into the realm of interplanetary space article about an atmosphere is thin! Where it interacts with the planet began to develop around 2.7 billion years ago different atmospheres or one that evolved., gives us oxygen to breathe, and one percent other gases that surrounds our planet 320., gives us oxygen to breathe, the atmosphere thins out in each higher until... Up as meteors before hitting a planet that shows climate change on a large scale craters rare... 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Part what is atmosphere the main components of Earth is a jacket for the system! Hydrogen and helium damage by solar ultraviolet radiation, solar wind would enhance... Of more than 15 % so estimation of the Earth 's magnetic field to. And 380 km surrounding a planet 's magnetosphere interdependent physical systems is the has! Have outer atmospheres with compound molecules heated to temperatures what is atmosphere 1,000 K and.

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