Of course, it also … The atmosphere protects life on earth by shielding it from incoming ultraviolet (UV) radiation, keeping the planet warm through insulation, and preventing extremes between day and night temperatures. It seals the planet and protects us from the vacuum of space. Ultraviolet is often shortened to UV. chemical element with the symbol N, whose gas form is 78% of the Earth's atmosphere. The surface that is seen through telescopes and in spacecraft images is actually a complex of cloud layers decorated by many small-scale features, such as red, brown, and white spots, bands, eddies, and vortices, that vary over a fairly short time. Most of the weather and clouds are found in the first layer. Atmosphere types The atmosphere is divided into different layers, which vary according to temperature and pressure forming a scale called atmospheric thermal gradient. NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory: Rivers in the Atmosphere, National Geographic Science: Earth—Earth’s Atmosphere. Sustainability Policy |  These gases are found in layers (troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere) defined by unique features such as temperature and pressure. glowing, high-altitude clouds visible in the twilight sky. Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, has a thick atmosphere made mostly of nitrogen and methane. Like all other parts of the atmosphere, these layers vary with season and latitude. Diane Boudreau fluctuating area of the upper atmosphere between the thermosphere and the exosphere. space within the solar system but outside the atmospheres of any planets or moons. They are distinguished by a unique atomic number. Most of these atmospheres are radically different from Earth’s, although they contain many of the same elements. Most shooting stars are the size of a grain of sand and burn up before entering the stratosphere or troposphere. Subscribe to Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list to get updates about our educational projects and free educational resources. The gaseous mass or envelope surrounding a celestial body, especially the one surrounding the earth, and … chemical element (gas) with the symbol Ar. Atmosphere, the gas and aerosol envelope that extends from the ocean, land, and ice-covered surface of a planet outward into space. instrument that is launched but does not go into orbit, taking measurements, gathering data, and performing scientific experiments before falling back to Earth. At that time, there would have been little or no free oxygen surrounding the Earth. The greenhouse effect is necessary for life on Earth. Only trace amounts of helium, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and other gases are present.Many weather satellites orbit Earth in the exosphere. Also called cumulonimbus. The atmosphere is the blanket of gases which surrounds Earth. light-colored band of clouds on Jupiter or Saturn. explosion in the sun's atmosphere, which releases a burst of energy and charged particles into the solar system. lowest layer of the Earth's atmosphere, extending from the surface to about 16 kilometers (10 miles) above. Essentially, the atmosphere is is a collection of gases that makes the Earth habitable. The atmosphere on Mars is also dominated by carbon dioxide, although unlike Venus, it is quite thin.Gas giants are composed of gases. rocky debris from space that enters Earth's atmosphere. irregular, violent motion in the atmosphere. boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere layers in the Earth's atmosphere. Regions are the basic units of geography. The mesosphere extends to about 85 km. irregular, recurring weather system that features a warm, eastern-flowing ocean current in the eastern Pacific Ocean. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum with a very short wavelength and very high energy. If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. Free oxygen did not exist until about 1.7 billion years ago and this can be seen with the development of the red beds and the end of the banded iron formations. set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and flow of electric charge. Jet streams are extremely important to the airline industry. the basic unit of an element, composed of three major parts: electrons, protons, and neutrons. (singular: datum) information collected during a scientific study. bowl-shaped depression formed by a volcanic eruption or impact of a meteorite. Learn more. chemical compound gas responsible for the foul odor of rotten eggs. This sphere is also a fluid sphere (the other fluid sphere is hydrosphere). How to use atmosphere in a sentence. movement of air (from a high pressure zone to a low pressure zone) caused by the uneven heating of the Earth by the sun. These layers are the following: Troposphere: It is the lower layer, located in the first 6 to 20 kilometers high. Heat happens in an area of high pressure (think of water boiling in a pot). Clouds, from low-lying fog to thunderheads to high-altitude cirrus, form in the troposphere. Solar heat, on the other hand, is necessary for all life on Earth.Earth’s atmosphere has a layered structure. chemical element (gas) with the symbol Ne. flow of charged particles, mainly protons and electrons, from the sun to the edge of the solar system. In a terrestrial ecosystem, examples might include temperature, light, and water. electron that has been temporarily knocked off an atom. Atmospheric OrbitAlthough the International Space Station orbits in the thermosphere, most satellites orbit the Earth outside its atmosphere. Encyclopedic entry. With no wind or water to erode them, many craters on the Moon have been there for hundreds and even thousands of years.The way a celestial body’s atmosphere is structured and what it’s made of allow astrobiologists to speculate what kind of life the planet or moon may be able to support. When you reach out to him or her, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource. It differs from climate, which is all weather conditions for a particular location averaged over about 30 years. 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. National Geographic Headquarters organism that produces its own food through photosynthesis and whose cells have walls. This is a low trafic mailing list. That’s why AM radio stations can extend their range by hundreds of kilometers every night.The ionosphere also reflects particles from solar wind, the stream of highly charged particles ejected by the sun. state of the atmosphere, including temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind, humidity, precipitation, and cloudiness. The atmosphere is a gaseous envelope (with suspended liquids and solids) that surrounds the Earth and is held in place by gravity. The gases surrounding the earth are kept in place by the force of gravity. large, spherical celestial body that regularly rotates around a star. Join our 836 patrons! Flickr Creative Commons Images Some images used in this set are licensed under the Creative Commons through Flickr.com.Click to see StratosphereThe troposphere tends to change suddenly and violently, but the stratosphere is calm. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. In a marine ecosystem, abiotic factors would include salinity and ocean currents. *Seasonal winds which blow alternately from the Asian mainland and from the Pacific Ocean, are accompanied by fierce storms. GPS satellites, for instance, are in orbit more than 20,000 kilometers (12,400 miles) above the Earth. lowest level of the exosphere layer of Earth's atmosphere. This atmospheric layer conducts electricity.The ionosphere is named for ions created by energetic particles from sunlight and outer space. Without an atmosphere, Earth would likely be just another The bottom 30 kilometers (19 miles) of the atmosphere contains about 98 percent of its mass. A very tense, awkward, or uncomfortable atmosphere among a group of people. The atmosphere is quite dusty, containing particulates that measure 1.5 micrometers in diameter, which is what gives the Martian sky a tawny color when seen from … Here the particles are so far apart that they can travel hundreds of km without colliding with one another. We live at the bottom of an invisible ocean called the atmosphere, a layer of gases surrounding our planet. Privacy Notice |  Sprites are reddish, vertical electrical discharges that appear high above thunderheads, in the upper stratosphere and mesosphere. We depend on plants for oxygen production and food. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), about an alternative idea about the atmosphere’s origin, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The lack of an atmosphere on the Moon means it does not experience weather. Later, more complex forms of plant life added more oxygen to the atmosphere. Element is a collection of gases around the world ingredients must be balanced—not too thick or too.! More atoms linked together a media asset is downloadable, a layer of gases that the... During respiration and used by plants during what is the atmosphere mainly protons and electrons, from dark-colored bands, called greenhouse. 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