The atmosphere is one of the most important components of our planet. It is she who "shelters" people from the harsh conditions of outer space, such as solar radiation and space debris. At the same time, many facts about the atmosphere are unknown to most people.
1. True color of the sky
While it's hard to believe, the sky is actually purple. When light enters the atmosphere, air and water particles absorb the light, scattering it. In this case, the violet color is scattered most of all, which is why people see the blue sky.
2. An exclusive element in the Earth's atmosphere
As many remember from school, the Earth's atmosphere consists of approximately 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and small impurities of argon, carbon dioxide and other gases. But few people know that our atmosphere is the only one currently discovered by scientists (apart from comet 67P) that has free oxygen. Because oxygen is a highly reactive gas, it often reacts with other chemicals in space. Its pure form on Earth makes the planet habitable.
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3. White stripe in the sky
Surely, some sometimes wondered why there is a white stripe in the sky behind a jet plane. These white traces, known as contrails, are formed when hot, humid exhaust fumes from an aircraft engine mix with colder outside air. The water vapor from the exhaust gas freezes and becomes visible.
4. The main layers of the atmosphere
The Earth's atmosphere consists of five main layers that make life possible on the planet. The first, the troposphere, extends from sea level to an altitude of about 17 km to the equator. Most of the weather events take place in it.
5. Ozone layer
The next layer of the atmosphere, the stratosphere, reaches an altitude of about 50 km at the equator. It contains an ozone layer that protects people from dangerous ultraviolet rays. Even though this layer is above the troposphere, it may actually be warmer due to the absorbed energy from the sun's rays. Most jets and weather balloons fly in the stratosphere. Airplanes can fly faster in it because they are less affected by gravity and friction. Weather balloons can get a better understanding of storms, most of which occur lower in the troposphere.
6. Mesosphere
The mesosphere is the middle layer extending up to 85 km above the planet's surface. The temperature in it fluctuates around -120 ° C. Most of the meteors that enter the Earth's atmosphere burn in the mesosphere. The last two layers passing into space are the thermosphere and exosphere.
7. Disappearance of the atmosphere
The earth has most likely lost its atmosphere several times. When the planet was covered in oceans of magma, massive interstellar objects crashed into it. These influences, which also formed the moon, may have formed the planet's atmosphere for the first time.
8. If there were no atmospheric gases …
Without various gases in the atmosphere, the Earth would be too cold for human existence. Water vapor, carbon dioxide and other atmospheric gases absorb heat from the sun and "distribute" it across the planet's surface, helping to create a climate suitable for habitation.
9. Formation of the ozone layer
The notorious (and essential) ozone layer was created when oxygen atoms reacted with the sun's ultraviolet light to form ozone. It is ozone that absorbs most of the harmful radiation from the sun. Despite its importance, the ozone layer was formed relatively recently after enough life arose in the oceans to release the amount of oxygen necessary to create a minimum concentration of ozone into the atmosphere.
10. Ionosphere
The ionosphere is so named because high-energy particles from space and from the Sun help form ions, creating an “electrical layer” around the planet. When satellites did not exist, this layer helped to reflect radio waves.
11. Acid rain
Acid rain, which destroys entire forests and devastates aquatic ecosystems, forms in the atmosphere when sulfur dioxide or nitric oxide particles mix with water vapor and fall to the ground as rain. These chemical compounds are also found in nature: sulfur dioxide is produced during volcanic eruptions, and nitric oxide is produced during lightning strikes.
12. Lightning power
Lightning is so powerful that a single discharge can heat the surrounding air up to 30,000 ° C. Rapid heating causes an explosive expansion of nearby air, which is heard in the form of a sound wave called thunder.
13. Aurora Borealis
Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis (northern and southern aurora borealis) are caused by ionic reactions occurring in the fourth level of the atmosphere, the thermosphere. When highly charged particles from the solar wind collide with air molecules above the planet's magnetic poles, they glow and create magnificent light shows.
14. Sunsets
Sunsets often look like a burning sky, as small atmospheric particles scatter light, reflecting it in shades of orange and yellow. The same principle underlies the formation of rainbows.
15. Inhabitants of the upper atmosphere
In 2013, scientists discovered that tiny microbes can survive miles above the Earth's surface. At an altitude of 8-15 km above the planet, microbes have been discovered that destroy organic chemicals that float in the atmosphere, "feeding" on them.