FACTS ABOUT EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE THAT ARE TRULY MAJESTIC
Added on: 13th Dec 2016
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THE SKY IS ACTUALLY
PURPLE. AS LIGHT ENTERS THE ATMOSPHERE,
AIR AND WATER PARTICLES ABSORB AND
REEMIT THE LIGHT, SCATTERING IT ON
ITS WAY TO OUR EYES. SINCE SCATTERING
PREFERS SHORTER WAVELENGTHS, THE
MOST COMMONLY SCATTERED COLOUR IS
ACTUALLY VIOLET. WE THINK WE SEE A BLUE
SKY RATHER THAN A PURPLE ONE BECAUSE OUR
EYES ARE MORE SENSITIVE TO THE COLOUR BLUE
AS YOU LIKELY LEARNED IN SCIENCE CLASS, OUR
ATMOSPHERE IS MADE OF ABOUT 78% NITROGEN,
21% OXYGEN AND MINISCULE PERCENTAGES
OF ARGON, CARBON DIOXIDE AND OTHER GASES.
WHAT YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE LEARNED IS THAT
OUR ATMOSPHERE IS THE ONLY ONE WE HAVE
DISCOVERED (BESIDES A MAGNIFICENT FIND ON
COMET 67P) WHICH HAS FREE OXYGEN. SINCE
OXYGEN IS A HIGHLY REACTIVE GAS, IT OFTEN
BINDS WITH OTHER CHEMICALS IN SPACE. ITS
PURE FORM ON EARTH MAKES THE PLANET
HABITABLE AND LEADS OUR SEARCH FOR LIFE
ON OTHER PLANETS.
MOST PEOPLE WILL PROBABLY GET THIS QUESTION
WRONG: IS THERE MORE WATER IN THE CLOUDS
OR IN A CLEAR SKY? THOUGH WE'D THINK
CLOUDS ARE THE MAIN DEPOSITORY SINCE
THEY DROP WATER, MOST OF THE WATER IN
OUR ATMOSPHERE IS INVISIBLE WATER VAPOUR.
FOR THIS REASON, MORE SWEAT LINGERS ON
OUR BODIES WHEN THE WATER VAPOUR IN THE
AIR, KNOWN AS HUMIDITY, IS HIGHER
SOME GLOBAL WARMING SCEPTICS ARGUE IT'S
NOT A REAL PHENOMENON BECAUSE THEIR CITY
HAS BEEN GETTING COLDER. IN FACT, EARTH'S
GLOBAL CLIMATE IS THE COMBINATION OF A
WIDE VARIETY OF REGIONAL CLIMATES. SO
EVEN THOUGH SOME AREAS ARE WARMING
WHILE OTHERS ARE COOLING, ON THE
WHOLE, THE AVERAGE GLOBAL CLIMATE IS
RAPIDLY WARMING
EVER WONDER WHAT CAUSES THE WHITE STREAK
SEEN AFTER SOME PLANES SHOOT THROUGH THE
SKY? THESE WHITE TRAILS, KNOWN AS CONTRAILS
OR CONDENSATION TRAILS, FORM WHEN THE HOT,
HUMID EXHAUST FROM AN ENGINE MIXES WITH
THE COLDER OUTSIDE AIR. WATER VAPOUR FROM
THE EXHAUST FREEZES AND BECOMES VISIBLE,
JUST LIKE YOUR WARM BREATH ON A COLD DAY.
A THIN AND RAPIDLY DISAPPEARING CONTRAIL
MEANS THE AIR AT THOSE HIGH ALTITUDES IS
LOW IN HUMIDITY, INDICATING GOOD WEATHER.
A THICK, PERSISTENT CONTRAIL SIGNALS HIGH
HUMIDITY AND MAY MEAN A STORM IS COMING
OUR ATMOSPHERE HAS FIVE PRIMARY LAYERS
WHICH MAKE LIFE POSSIBLE. THE FIRST, THE
TROPOSPHERE, EXTENDS FROM SEA LEVEL
TO ABOUT 11 MILES (17KMS) UP AT THE EQUATOR.
MOST OF OUR WEATHER HAPPENS HERE DUE TO
THE MIXTURE OF WARM AIR RISING AND FALLING TO
FORM CLOUDS AND WIND
THE NEXT LAYER IS THE STRATOSPHERE,
REACHING UP TO AROUND 30 MILES (50KMS)
ABOVE EQUATORIAL SEA LEVEL. HEREIN LIES
THE OZONE LAYER, WHICH PROTECTS US
FROM DANGEROUS ULTRAVIOLET RAYS. THOUGH
IT IS HIGHER THAN THE TROPOSPHERE,
IT AN ACTUALLY BE WARMER DUE TO THE ENERGY
ABSORBED FROM SOLAR RAYS
THE MESOSPHERE IS THE MIDDLE LAYER, EXTENDING
TO 52 MILES (85KMS) ABOVE THE PLANET'S SURFACE
WHERE TEMPERATURES HOVER AROUND -180°F
(-120°C). MOST OF THE METEORS WHICH ENTER
OUR ATMOSPHERE BURN UP IN THE MESOSPHERE
CONSIDERED THE FIRST PART OF OUTER SPACE
DUE TO ITS THINNESS AND THE AREA COVERED
(AROUND 430 MILES OR 690 KILOMETRES ABOVE
THE EQUATOR), THE IONOSPHERE IS WHERE
MOST OF OUR SATELLITES, INCLUDING THE
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION, ARE PARKED
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