An international team of astronomers, including scientists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the PlanetS National Center of Competence in Research, has identified the presence of iron winds in the atmosphere of the ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 5, 2024
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13
Thanks to observations by the Solar Occultation in the Infrared (SOIR) instrument on the Venus Express space probe of the European Space Agency (ESA), researchers have discovered an unexpected increase in the abundances of ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 20, 2024
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45
Two University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists have discovered a new type of "whistler," an electromagnetic wave that carries a substantial amount of lightning energy to the Earth's magnetosphere.
Planetary Sciences
Aug 17, 2024
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On May 11, a gorgeous aurora surprised stargazers across the southern United States. That same weekend, a tractor guided by GPS missed its mark.
Planetary Sciences
Aug 16, 2024
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In 2025, NASA will launch its first mission to image the magnetic fingerprint of intense electrical currents that flow high in our atmosphere when auroras shimmer above Earth's poles.
Space Exploration
9 hours ago
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35
There's a lot going on between Earth's atmosphere and the sun. Accurately forecasting conditions in this area of space is challenging but critical to the safety of astronauts, satellites, and even ground-based systems such ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 23, 2024
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Evapotranspiration (ET) is the movement of water from land to the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration. Moisture recycling describes the contribution from local ET to local precipitation.
Environment
Aug 12, 2024
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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.
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