Atmosphere Atmosphere An atmosphere (from Modern Greek ἀτμός "(atmos)", meaning 'vapour', and σφαῖρα "(sphaira)", meaning 'sphere') is a layer or a set of layers of gases surrounding a planet or other material body, that is held in place by the gravity of that body. An atmosphere is more likely to be retained if the gravity it is subject to is high and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. The atmosphere of Earth is composed of nitrogen (about 78%), oxygen (about 21%), argon (about 0.9%) , carbon dioxide (0.03%) and other gases in trace amounts. Oxygen is used by most organisms
Atmosphere of Earth are used to predict orbital decay of satellites. The average mass of the atmosphere is about 5 quadrillion (5) tonnes or 1/1,200,000 the mass of Earth. According to the American National Center for Atmospheric Research, "The total mean mass of the atmosphere is 5.1480 kg with an annual range due to water vapor of 1.2 or 1.5 kg, depending on whether surface pressure or water vapor data are used; somewhat smaller than the previous estimate. The mean mass of water vapor is estimated as 1.27 kg and the dry air mass as 5.1352 ±0.0003 kg." Solar radiation (or sunlight) is