Template:Table composition of dry atmosphere

It’s a mixture of different gases. The air in Earth’s atmosphere is made up of approximately 78 percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen.

78%

Nitrogen

Nitrogen and oxygen make up about 99 percent of Earth’s air. People and other animals need oxygen to live. Carbon dioxide, a gas that plants depend on, makes up less than .

Air is a mixture of gases, consisting primarily of nitrogen (78 %), oxygen (21 %) and the inert gas argon (0.9 %). The remaining 0.1 % is made up mostly of carbon dioxide and the inert gases neon, helium, krypton and xenon.

According to NASA, the gases in Earth’s atmosphere include:

• Nitrogen — 78 percent.
• Oxygen — 21 percent.
• Argon — 0.93 percent.
• Carbon dioxide — 0.04 percent.
• Trace amounts of neon, helium, methane, krypton and hydrogen, as well as water vapor.

What’s in the Air? By volume, the dry air in Earth’s atmosphere is about 78.09 percent nitrogen, 20.95 percent oxygen, and 0.93 percent argon. A brew of trace gases accounts for the other 0.03 percent, including the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone.

The difference between air and oxygen is that oxygen is a pure chemical element, while air is a mixture, not an element.

By far the predominant gas is carbon dioxide, making up 95.9 percent of the atmosphere’s volume. The next four most abundant gases are argon, nitrogen, oxygen and carbon monoxide.

Some references include other gases on this list, such as krypton (less abundant than helium, but more than hydrogen), xenon (less abundant than hydrogen), nitrogen dioxide (less abundant than ozone), and iodine (less abundant than ozone).

Carbon dioxide and oxygen are the gases in the atmosphere that are needed for life.

Krypton

The thermosphere is home to the International Space Station as it orbits Earth. This is also where you’ll find low Earth orbit satellites. There’s a lot going on in the thermosphere!

The thermosphere

Layers of the atmosphere

• The Troposphere. This is the lowest part of the atmosphere – the part we live in.
• The Stratosphere. This extends upwards from the tropopause to about 50 km.
• The Mesosphere. The region above the stratosphere is called the mesosphere.
• The Thermosphere and Ionosphere.
• The Exosphere.
• The Magnetosphere.

around 6,700 miles

The Earth’s atmosphere contains mainly 5 layers which are troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere.

Layers of the atmosphere: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere and thermosphere. Moving upward from ground level, these layers are named the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere.

troposphere

The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for liquid water to exist on the Earth’s surface, absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention (greenhouse effect), and reducing temperature extremes between day and night (the diurnal temperature variation …

Earth’s atmosphere is composed of about 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, 0.9 percent argon, and 0.1 percent other gases. Trace amounts of carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and neon are some of the other gases that make up the remaining 0.1 percent.

The Exosphere: The final layer of Earth’s atmosphere, where it gradually gives way to outer space, is the exosphere. This layer extends from around 440 miles above Earth to nearly 6,200 miles.

The exosphere has gases like hydrogen and helium, but they are very spread out. There is a lot of empty space in between. There is no air to breathe, and it’s very cold.

2. The ionosphere is where Earth’s atmosphere meets space. The ionosphere stretches roughly 50 to 400 miles above Earth’s surface, right at the edge of space. Along with the neutral upper atmosphere, the ionosphere forms the boundary between Earth’s lower atmosphere — where we live and breathe — and the vacuum of space …

The troposphere is between 5 and 9 miles (8 and 14 kilometers) thick depending on where you are on Earth. It’s thinnest at the North and South Pole. This layer has the air we breathe and the clouds in the sky. The air here is 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen.

Fact Sheet

• The troposphere contains 75% of the atmosphere’s total mass.
• In either space or time the troposphere is not constant.
• Weather occurs in the troposphere.
• The troposphere is 10 miles from the equator.
• The troposphere is 5-7 miles above the poles.
• Does not contain ozone.

The troposphere is the lowest layer of Earth’s atmosphere. Most of the mass (about 75-80%) of the atmosphere is in the troposphere. Most types of clouds are found in the troposphere, and almost all weather occurs within this layer.