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EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE

Join the classroom discussion on the importance of Earth's atmosphere as the only protection against the solar wind. Explore the layers of the atmosphere and understand how it blocks dangerous rays from the sun. Discover the changing colors of the sky and the role of Earth's magnetic field.

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EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE

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  1. EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE

  2. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? • Generate a classroom discussion

  3. Called ‘Thin Blue Line’ Picture from International Space Station

  4. Our fragile biosphere's only protection from the solar wind's full onslaught is provided by the Earth's atmosphere (the thin blue layer in the photograph) and its magnetic field (which acts as a shield against the sun's radiation and magnetic fields).

  5. MIR SPACECRAFT

  6. http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/igviewer.php?imgid=743&gid=59http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/igviewer.php?imgid=743&gid=59 Mir's solar-array panel was damaged during a collision with an unmanned Progress re-supply ship on June 25, 1997 I This is considered the worst accident in the space station's history

  7. ACTIVITIES • Layered Booklet • Where does Space Begin?

  8. WHERE IS IT?

  9. How are the Layers Defined? • Layers of the Atmosphere Activity

  10. TEMPERATURE

  11. What is the atmosphere? • Envelope of gasses that surrounds the Earth and protects us by blocking out dangerous rays from the sun • Mixture of gasses that become thinner until it gradually reaches space • Composed of nitrogen 97(%), oxygen (21%) and other gasses (1%)

  12. WHAT IS IT MADE OF?

  13. TROPOSPHERE

  14. All weather takes place within this layer • It is a region of rising and falling packets of air; masses of air are very well mixed together. • Air pressure at the top is 10% of that at sea level • Temperature decreases with altitude • Boundary with the next layer is called the tropopause

  15. STRATOSPHERE Does it really reach to the Stratosphere?

  16. Air flow in this layer is almost horizontal • Jet stream between 10-15 km • Influences weather patterns in troposphere • Ozone exists in this layer • Responsible for absorbing the ultraviolet radiation from the sun • Causes this layer to heat up • Boundary is called the stratopause

  17. MESOSPHERE

  18. Coldest layer • But this is where meteors burn up • http://video/google.com/videoplay?docid=367189568812571611&q=australia+meteor • Boundary called the mesopause

  19. THERMOSPHERE • DIVIDED INTO TWO SECTIONS • UPPER LIMITS EXTENDS INTO THE VACUUM OF SPACE

  20. IONOSPHERE

  21. Area ionized by solar radiation • Different regions of the ionosphere make long distance radio communication possible by reflecting the radio waves back to earth • Home to auroras

  22. EXOSPHERE

  23. Region where atoms and molecules escape into space

  24. Earth’s Magnetosphere

  25. The Earth generates a giant magnetic dipole field shaped like a bar magnet. • It emerges from the middle of the Earth, with lines looping roughly north-south. • The Earth's magnetic field tries to be the same shape as a bar magnet. • However, it gets bent out of shape by winds from the Sun • Earth's magnetic field changes over time, so the magnetic poles vary in strength and direction

  26. Changing Colors of the Sky • The color of the sky is determined by how much the atmosphere scatters sunlight • If one could add more molecules to our atmosphere, its color would be yellow • Near sunrise or sunset, the rays of sunlight strike the atmosphere at a low angle • Shorter wavelengths (blues) are scattered • Longer wavelengths (reds, oranges, yellows) make it through

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