A planet's initial atmospheric composition is related to the chemistry and temperature of the local solar nebula during planetary formation and the subsequent escape of interior gases. Without an atmosphere, the planet has no protection from meteoroids, and all of them collide with the surface as meteorites and create craters. The lowest layer is the troposphere, which extends from the surface to the bottom of the stratosphere. Often during spring and summer, weather patterns cause giant dust devils, kicking up the oxidized iron dust that covers its surface, giving Mars its signature red hue. Because the troposphere is the lowest atmosphere layer, it contains 75 percent of the atmosphere’s mass. 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. The presence oxygen began to appear apparently from being released by photosynthesizing algae. This signifies a shift from a reducing atmosphere to an oxidizing atmosphere. However, atmospheres are not uniform in temperature, so estimation of the atmospheric pressure at any particular altitude is more complex. This region consists of layers or shells of gases. The circulation of the atmosphere occurs due to thermal differences when convection becomes a more efficient transporter of heat than thermal radiation. Atmospheres have dramatic effects on the surfaces of rocky bodies. Venus's atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide with thick clouds of sulfur, which render the surface too hot to support any known form of life. Atmosphere's implementation has a total memory footprint roughly 0x28000 bytes smaller than Nintendo's. Surface gravity differs significantly among the planets. The first exoplanet whose atmospheric composition was determined is HD 209458b, a gas giant with a close orbit around a star in the constellation Pegasus. The factors studied were staff attitude, atmosphere, timing (service), and food. Two satellites of the outer planets possess significant atmospheres. Besides providing us with something to breathe, the atmosphere helps make life on Earth possible in several ways. Stars with sufficiently low temperatures may have outer atmospheres with compound molecules. The stratosphere, extending from the top of the troposphere to the bottom of the mesosphere, contains the ozone layer. Earth’s atmosphere has six layers: the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the thermosphere, the ionosphere, and the exosphere. High above the planet, the atmosphere becomes thinner until it gradually reaches space. The air is a poor conductor of heat. Based on the relative volumes of the gases in Earth’s atmosphere, nitrogen is actually more than 3 times more than oxygen. Like the rest of the planet, the atmosphere of Saturn is made up approximately 75% hydrogen and 25% helium, with trace amounts of other substances like water ice … This creates a gravity field that shapes the atmosphere. The depth of this layer varies between 17 km at the equator to 7 km at the poles. The effects of reentry can be felt at 120 km. Wind picks up dust and other particles which, when they collide with the terrain, erode the relief and leave deposits (eolian processes). Plate tectonics began constantly rearranging the continents about 3.5 billion years ago and helped to shape long-term climate evolution by allowing the transfer of carbon dioxide to large land-based carbonate stores. The mass of the atmosphere is around 5×1018kg. However, over the past 3 billion years Earth may have lost gases through the magnetic polar regions due to auroral activity, including a net 2% of its atmospheric oxygen. Its atmosphere is heated to temperatures over 1,000 K, and is steadily escaping into space. These include argon, carbon dioxide, neon, helium, hydrogen, and more. Definition of Atmosphere. When a planet generates a significant amount of heat internally, such as is the case for Jupiter, convection in the atmosphere can transport thermal energy from the higher temperature interior up to the surface. An atmosphere (from Ancient Greek ἀτμός (atmos), meaning 'vapour', and σφαῖρα (sphaira), meaning 'ball' or 'sphere'[1][2]) 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 definition is - the gaseous envelope of a celestial body (such as a planet). Essentially, the atmosphere is is a collection of gases that makes the Earth habitable. Objects that have no atmosphere, or that have only an exosphere, have terrain that is covered in craters. See no ads on this site, see our videos early, special bonus material, and much more. The exosphere gradually fades away into the realm of interplanetary space. 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. The atmosphere consists of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% water vapor, and a minute amount of other trace gases like argon, and carbon monoxide. It keeps us warm, gives us oxygen to breathe, and it is where our weather happens. Earth's atmosphere is a mixture of gases that surrounds our home planet. See more. One of the main components of Earth’s interdependent physical systems is the atmosphere. While the atmosphere becomes thinner the higher you go, there is no clear line demarcating the atmosphere from space; however, the Karman line , at 100 km, is often regarded as the boundary between atmosphere and outer space. These include the Moon (sodium gas), Mercury (sodium gas), Europa (oxygen), Io (sulfur), and Enceladus (water vapor). For a biologist or paleontologist, the Earth's atmospheric composition is closely dependent on the appearance of the life and its evolution. The ozone layer high in the Earth’s atmosphere blocks much of this radiation from reaching the surface. Atmosphere, the gas and aerosol envelope that extends from the ocean, land, and ice-covered surface of a planet outward into space. The atmospheres of the planets Venus and Mars are primarily composed of carbon dioxide, with small quantities of nitrogen, argon, oxygen and traces of other gases. When in the part of its orbit closest to the Sun, Pluto has an atmosphere of nitrogen and methane similar to Triton's, but these gases are frozen when it is farther from the Sun. The Earth is a sphere with a roughly 8000 mile diameter; the thickness of the atmosphere is about 60 miles. The exosphere is the last bastion of the atmosphere. The lower level is called the homosphere. Other mechanisms that can cause atmosphere depletion are solar wind-induced sputtering, impact erosion, weathering, and sequestration—sometimes referred to as "freezing out"—into the regolith and polar caps. The atmosphere is created by the earth’s magnetic field which emerges from the earth’s interior. [7], The composition of Earth's atmosphere is largely governed by the by-products of the life that it sustains. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for liquid water to exist on the Earth's surface, absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention (greenhouse effect), and reducing temperature extremes between day and night (the diurnal temperature variation). Frost and precipitations, which depend on the atmospheric composition, also influence the relief. 004 - The AtmosphereIn this video Paul Andersen explains how the atmosphere surrounds the planet. Hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and sulfur have been detected in the planet's inflated atmosphere.[9]. 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 thermosphere extends up to between 320 and 380 km. Without the atmosphere there could be no life on Earth. [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]. In addition, since liquids can not exist without pressure, an atmosphere allows liquid to be present at the surface, resulting in lakes, rivers and oceans. 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. This is where the International Space Station orbits. The atmosphere is made up of mostly nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (21%). Join our 836 patrons! How to use atmosphere in a sentence. The first atmosphere came into being as a result of a major rainfall over the entire planet that caused the build up of a major ocean. The height at which the pressure from an atmosphere declines by a factor of e (an irrational number with a value of 2.71828...) is called the scale height and is denoted by H. For an atmosphere with a uniform temperature, the scale height is proportional to the temperature and inversely proportional to the product of the mean molecular mass of dry air and the local acceleration of gravity at that location. The atmosphere of Earth is divided into several different layers. Mars is a planet that shows climate change on a large scale. Each of the layers has a different lapse rate, defining the rate of change in temperature with height. For a meteorologist, the composition of the Earth's atmosphere is a factor affecting the climate and its variations. Troposphere. 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. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Here the particles are so far apart that they can travel hundreds of km without colliding with one another. Most meteoroids burn up as meteors before hitting a planet's surface. Atmosphere's implementation uses a 32KB heap, which should not be exhaustible. 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. 75% of the atmospheric mass is within 11 km of the surface. Earth's magnetic field helps to prevent this, as, normally, the solar wind would greatly enhance the escape of hydrogen. Although Mars' atmosphere used to be thick enough for water to run on the surface, today that water is either scarce or non-existent. The absorbed blue light is then radiated in every direction. Over the vast history of Earth there have been three different atmospheres or one that has evolved in three major stages. In space research and exploration, atmospheric drag affects both the entry into orbit via rocket … The atmosphere is an important part of what makes Earth livable. 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