News tagged with earths atmosphere
Newly found asteroid buzzes Earth
A newly found space rock will give Earth a close shave on May 29, passing by at a distance of just 14,440 kilometers (8,950 miles). That distance puts the small asteroid, named 2012 KT42, in the top ten list ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 29, 2012 |
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Hubble sees a spiral within a spiral
(Phys.org) -- NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of the spiral galaxy known as ESO 498-G5. One interesting feature of this galaxy is that its spiral arms wind all the way into the center, so ...
May 28, 2012 |
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Geological record shows air up there came from below
(Phys.org) -- The influence of the ground beneath us on the air around us could be greater than scientists had previously thought, according to new research that links the long-ago proliferation of oxygen ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 23, 2012 |
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Is the Earth a cosmic feather-duster?
Scientists at the University of Leeds are looking to discover how dust particles in the solar system interact with the Earth's atmosphere.
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 18, 2012 |
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Black carbon, tropospheric ozone most likely driving Earth's tropical belt expansion
Black carbon aerosols and tropospheric ozone, both manmade pollutants emitted predominantly in the Northern Hemisphere's low- to mid-latitudes, are most likely pushing the boundary of the tropics further polew ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 16, 2012 |
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Nasa's new carbon-counting instrument leaves the nest
(Phys.org) -- Its construction now complete, the science instrument that is the heart of NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) spacecraft - NASA's first mission dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 11, 2012 |
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A NASA weather 'Eye in the Sky' marks 10 years
For 10 years, it has silently swooped through space in its orbital perch 438 miles (705 kilometers) above Earth, its nearly 2,400 spectral "eyes" peering into Earth's atmosphere, watching. But there's nothing ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 04, 2012 |
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Researchers use stalagmites to study past climate change
There is an old trick for remembering the difference between stalactites and stalagmites in a cave: Stalactites hold tight to the ceiling while stalagmites might one day grow to reach the ceiling. Now, it ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 03, 2012 |
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Safer air-conditioner refrigerant helps reverse rapid ozone-layer losses of past decades
If the approaching summer has you calling for an air-conditioning repair, you'll have a personal experience with one of the world's most successful global environmental efforts.
Apr 04, 2012 |
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North American rivers are a sizable source of atmospheric carbon
To fulfill the need for an ever more accurate and complete understanding of the flow of carbon through the Earth system, a flurry of research has taken place in the past decade on previously overlooked aspects of the carbon ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Mar 31, 2012 |
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Huge tornadoes discovered on the Sun
(PhysOrg.com) -- Solar tornadoes several times as wide as the Earth can be generated in the solar atmosphere, say researchers in the UK. A solar tornado was discovered using the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Mar 29, 2012 |
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Fossil raindrop impressions imply greenhouse gases loaded early Earth's atmosphere
In ancient Earth history, the sun burned as much as 30 percent dimmer than it does now. Theoretically that should have encased the planet in ice, but there is geologic evidence for rivers and ocean sediments ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Mar 28, 2012 |
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Rock sleuths: Researchers seek clues to atmospheric changes ahead of animal life
For more than a decade, scientists have dismissed claims that examining carbon-rich rocks could yield clues to the atmospheric and oceanic conditions on Earth hundreds of millions of years ago, but now researchers ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Mar 20, 2012 |
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Hazy shades of life on early Earth
A 'see-sawing' atmosphere over 2.5 billion years ago preceded the oxygenation of our planet and the development of complex life on Earth, a new study has shown.
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Mar 18, 2012 |
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Large solar flares generate geomagnetic storm
A pair of unusually large solar flares early yesterday generated a Coronal Mass Ejection that will reach Earth around mid-day today. It will likely cause at least a strong geomagnetic storm that could affect ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Mar 09, 2012 |
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Earth's atmosphere
The Earth's atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by the Earth's gravity. It has a mass of about five quadrillion metric tons. Dry air contains roughly (by volume) 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor, on average around 1%. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention (greenhouse effect), and reducing temperature extremes between day and night.
There is no definite boundary between the atmosphere and outer space. It slowly becomes thinner and fades into space. An altitude of 120 km (75 mi) marks the boundary where atmospheric effects become noticeable during atmospheric reentry. The Kármán line, at 100 km (62 mi), is also frequently regarded as the boundary between atmosphere and outer space. Three quarters of the atmosphere's mass is within 11 km (6.8 mi; 36,000 ft) of the surface.
For more information about Earth's atmosphere, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
