This region consists of layers or shells of gases. An atmosphere is more likely to be retained if the gravity it is subject to is high and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. Summary about Structure and Composition of Atmosphere. [/caption]What is the atmosphere? 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. On planets where the primary heat source is solar radiation, excess heat in the tropics is transported to higher latitudes. An atmosphere is more likely to be retained if the gravity it is subject to is high and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. [3] Oxygen is used by most organisms for respiration; nitrogen is fixed by bacteria and lightning to produce ammonia used in the construction of nucleotides and amino acids; and carbon dioxide is used by plants, algae and cyanobacteria for photosynthesis. Titan, a moon of Saturn, and Triton, a moon of Neptune, have atmospheres mainly of nitrogen. Essentially, the atmosphere is is a collection of gases that makes the Earth habitable. Oxygen showed major ups and downs until reaching a steady state of more than 15%. The mesosphere extends to about 85 km. Astronomy Cast offers a good episode about atmospheres around the Universe. 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 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. Earth’s atmosphere has six layers: the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the thermosphere, the ionosphere, and the exosphere. The sun bombards the solar system with ultraviolet radiation, and without protection, that radiation can cause severe damage to skin and eyes. The atmosphere consists of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% water vapor, and a minute amount of other … Atmospheres have dramatic effects on the surfaces of rocky bodies. 75% of the atmospheric mass is within 11 km of the surface. However, atmospheres are not uniform in temperature, so estimation of the atmospheric pressure at any particular altitude is more complex. [6] As a result, craters are rare on objects with atmospheres. Essentially, the atmosphere is is a collection of gases that makes the Earth habitable. So, no matter where you look, you see the scattered blue light. Earth's atmosphere consists of a number of layers that differ in properties such as composition, temperature and pressure. Besides providing us with something to breathe, the atmosphere helps make life on Earth possible in several ways. The Brief Overview. These include the Moon (sodium gas), Mercury (sodium gas), Europa (oxygen), Io (sulfur), and Enceladus (water vapor). ", "Hubble Probes Layer-cake Structure of Alien World's Atmosphere", Properties of atmospheric strata - The flight environment of the atmosphere. From the perspective of a planetary geologist, the atmosphere acts to shape a planetary surface. This signifies a shift from a reducing atmosphere to an oxidizing atmosphere. We've arranged the synonyms in length order so that they are easier to find. Atmosphere, the gas and aerosol envelope that extends from the ocean, land, and ice-covered surface of a planet outward into space. The thermosphere extends up to between 320 and 380 km. Troposphere. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, commonly known as air, retained by Earth's gravity, surrounding the planet Earth and forming its planetary atmosphere. The exosphere gradually fades away into the realm of interplanetary space. 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 atmosphere is very thin compared to the size of the Earth. Atmosphere's implementation has a total memory footprint roughly 0x28000 bytes smaller than Nintendo's. Thus, distant and cold Titan, Triton, and Pluto are able to retain their atmospheres despite their relatively low gravities. The atmosphere is also responsible for the aurora borealis. Earth's magnetic field helps to prevent this, as, normally, the solar wind would greatly enhance the escape of hydrogen. 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 creates a gravity field that shapes the atmosphere. Other mechanisms that can cause atmosphere depletion are solar wind-induced sputtering, impact erosion, weathering, and sequestrationâsometimes referred to as "freezing out"âinto the regolith and polar caps. The atmosphere is a protective layer that safeguards the earth from the harsh conditions of the solar system. Atmosphere's implementation uses a 32KB heap, which should not be exhaustible. 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. 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 lowest layer is the troposphere, which extends from the surface to the bottom of the stratosphere. 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 ozone layer high in the Earth’s atmosphere blocks much of this radiation from reaching the surface. High above the planet, the atmosphere becomes thinner until it gradually reaches space. The atmosphere is the blanket of gases which surrounds Earth. The ionosphere increases in thickness and moves closer to the Earth during daylight and rises at night allowing certain frequencies of radio communication over a greater range. The second atmosphere began to develop around 2.7 billion years ago. Most meteors burn up in this zone of the atmosphere. The term stellar atmosphere describes the outer region of a star and typically includes the portion above the opaque photosphere. Earth and Titan are known to have liquids at their surface and terrain on the planet suggests that Mars had liquid on its surface in the past. Without the atmosphere there could be no life on Earth. For a biologist or paleontologist, the Earth's atmospheric composition is closely dependent on the appearance of the life and its evolution. For such a model atmosphere, the pressure declines exponentially with increasing altitude. To between 320 and 380 km and sulfur have been detected in the atmosphere thins out each... Escape of hydrogen work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License! The absorbed blue light the climate and its variations is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. 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