How Earth Got Its Atmosphere: The Story of the Invisible Ocean Above Our Heads
Take a deep breath. The air that just entered your lungs is part of a planetary system so vast and complex that most people rarely stop to think about it. Every second of every day, humanity lives at the bottom of an enormous ocean of gas that surrounds the Earth. This ocean is invisible, yet it is one of the most important reasons life exists on our planet. Without Earth's atmosphere, there would be no clouds, no rain, no weather, no protection from harmful solar radiation, and no breathable air. The oceans would gradually disappear, temperatures would swing wildly between extreme heat and extreme cold, and most forms of life would be impossible. Yet a fascinating question remains: Where did Earth's atmosphere come from? Did our planet form with an atmosphere already in place, or did it develop one over time? The answer takes us back more than 4.5 billion years to the violent beginnings of our world. Did Earth Always Have an Atmosphere? When Earth first formed from the cloud...