Learning about the atmosphere

Hello my dear steemians, this time we are going to talk a little about the atmosphere.

What is it and what is its importance?

It is the layer of air that surrounds our planet. It is composed of gases and suspended particles held near the earth's surface due to the force of gravity on Earth.

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In addition to regulating the entry and exit of energy from our planet, provide the gases that we need living beings and avoid the entry of dangerous radiation from the Sun, it produces all the climatic and meteorological phenomena that affect the Earth.

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As for its origin and evolution, it is calculated that originally our atmosphere was composed only of volcanic emanations at a very high temperature such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia and nitrogen. Later, much of the water vapor condensed, generating seas and oceans. The primitive forms of life capable of carrying out photosynthesis like bacteria and algae, began to produce oxygen, which later increased enough to allow the existence of marine life and then the evolution of terrestrial animals capable of breathing air.

On Earth the atmosphere is essential for life, the atmosphere is responsible for the so-called greenhouse effect, a natural phenomenon by which the heat from the sun is preserved, preventing temperatures from changing sharply. In addition to containing oxygen and carbon dioxide, essential gases for respiration and photosynthesis, the atmosphere participates in the water cycle, protects us from the impact of meteorites and with its ozone layer filters out a large part of the ultraviolet rays from the sun. Therefore, without the atmosphere the earth would be a desert planet, unable to maintain life.

While the earth is not the only planet in the solar system that has an atmosphere, ours has unique characteristics. The presence of oxygen and the presence of water in a gaseous (vapor), liquid and solid state (water droplets and ice in the clouds) are distinctive elements.

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The high content of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%) and the presence of water in liquid and gaseous state are characteristics that distinguish the Earth's atmosphere from other planetary atmospheres.

The layers of the atmosphere are:

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Exosphere

It is the outer limit of the atmosphere. Further, the Magnetosphere extends, a space in which the magnetic field of the planet dominates the magnetic field of the interplanetary medium.

Thermosphere or Inosphere

It is formed by a series of layers. It reaches an altitude of more than 30,000 kilometers above sea level. In it radio waves are reflected and polar auroras are produced.

Mesosphere

It is about 40 km thick. It does not contain ozone or water vapor, but it does contain clumps of ice and dust. In this area of the atmosphere, meteorites that reach the earth become incandescent, forming what are known as shooting stars.

Stratosphere

It is after the Troposphere to a height of about 45 kilometers above sea level. Virtually no moisture (water vapor), no clouds. From ozone (o2), ozone (o3) is formed in this layer, a filter that absorbs a large part of the dangerous ultraviolet rays.

Troposphere

It is the layer of the atmosphere closest to the earth, it does not exceed 11 kilometers above sea level. Most of the weather phenomena occur in it, the winds and storms originate. There is almost all the water vapor, the smoke
and the oxygen we breathe. Also in this area, birds and most of the airplanes fly.

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