Atmosphere of Earth from the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) and show Earth as it rotates during a day. Atmosphere of Earth The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, commonly known as air, that surrounds the planet Earth and is retained by Earth's gravity. 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). By volume, dry air contains 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04%
Atmosphere of Mars energy to escape the planet. In this process the light isotope of carbon (C) is most likely to leave the atmosphere. Hence, the carbon dioxide left in the atmosphere would be enriched with the heavy isotope (C). This higher level of the heavy isotope is what was recently found by the "Curiosity" rover that sits on the surface of Mars. The atmosphere of Mars is enriched considerably with the noble gas argon, in comparison to the atmosphere of the other planets within the Solar System. Unlike carbon dioxide, the argon content of the atmosphere does not condense, and hence the