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Why did the terrestrial planets lose their primary atmospheres?
Wiki User
∙ 10y ago
The Earth's atmosphere has gone through a number of changes in temperature and composition over the 4.5 billion years it has been around.
From our point of view, the important change occurred when it became breathable by us (or other animals). That change almost killed everything else alive at the time since oxygen was poisonous to the first life forms on Earth.
About 3 or 4 billion years ago, a bacteria-like life form discovered photosynthesis and gave off oxygen as a poisonous waste.
This photosynthetic prokaryotic organisms that emitted O2 as a waste a precursor to what we now call blue-green alga. After more than a billion years of these bacteria-like things making oxygen, a life form evolved that was able to breath it. Soon after that, we arrived.
Now that humans are hear, there are more temperature and chemistry changes to the atmosphere due to chemical we create that become pollutants and we are working on doubling the concentration of CO2 as a waste gas from burning coal and oil.
Wiki User
∙ 10y ago
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoEarth's primary atmosphere, consisting of mostly hydrogen and helium molecules from its creation, escaped into space. This is due to the fact of the low escape velocity Earth has for hydrogen and helium, being a relatively small planetary body close enough to the hot sun for the gases to become active enough to escape its gravitational pull into space.
Despite losing its primary atmosphere, Earth later gained a secondary atmosphere through a gradual process involving volcanism, impacts from mineral laden comets, and living organisms.
Wiki User
∙ 10y agoThe early atmosphere of Earth which was mainly Carbon Dioxide, Nitrogen, water vapor and Methane was changed (over billions of years) by early life on earth to the atmosphere we have today.
outgasing of volcanoes
Wiki User
∙ 10y agoIn recent (250) years the earth's atmosphere has been changed by human burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) in industry, transport and the generation of electricity, which releases long-hidden carbon dioxide.
Wiki User
∙ 10y agoTheir low gravities couldn't hold them.
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Explain why the outer planets did not lose the light gases in their atmospheres?
In order for gas to leave a planet it needs to be hot enough and to overcome the planet's gravity. The outer planets are colder and are very massive in comparison to Earth.
How does the mass of a planet relate to its distance from the sun?
There is no necessary connection between mass and distance. The mass of a planet does not affect its orbital speed, for example. However the "giant planets" are further from the Sun than the less massive "terrestrial planets". The outer (more massive planets) contain a lot of gases. So, they would surely lose a lot of their mass if they were nearer the Sun. (In fact, we have found planets called "hot Jupiters" orbiting other stars. These are Jupiter type planets, but they orbit very close to their star.)
Did outer planets lose the light gases in their atmosphere?
no.
Why do outer planets not lose their gas?
Their immense gravity keeps the gases there.
What did the planets near the sun lose because of the sun's temperature?
All their hydrogen and helium.
When did space lose oxygen?
It didn't. Space does have some oxygen, it is just extremely thin almost everywhere (except in the atmospheres of some planets).
Explain why the outer planets did not lose the light gases in their atmospheres?
In order for gas to leave a planet it needs to be hot enough and to overcome the planet's gravity. The outer planets are colder and are very massive in comparison to Earth.
What would happen to our solar system if there were no gravity?
The planets would fly off into space and lose their moons and atmospheres. The sun would explode from its enormous interior pressure.
What separates the terrestrial and jovian planets?
In our solar system, the asteroid belt lies between the two types of planets. Whether this is due to some overarching influence or merely coincidental cannot be determined at the present time. Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are small rocky, terrestrial planets. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are larger, predominantly gaseous planets. Beyond Neptune are many small plutoids and other icy bodies, some of which approach the size of the terrestrial planets. Their gaseous composition, however, means that they would lose much of their mass if they were closer to the Sun.
How do terrestrial organisms lose water to the environment?
terrestrial organisms lose water by different ways:- 1) by excretion (in humans and animals) 2)by trans location (in plants)
Why do different planets have different atmospheres?
All the sun's planets probably had similar atmospheres when they first formed, billions of years ago. The most common gases were the light gases, hydrogen and helium, with smaller amounts of oxygen, nitrogen and other gases. The immense gravity of the giant planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, was able to hold the hydrogen and helium, which remain the predominant gases in their atmospheres, along with methane formed by the combination of hydrogen with free carbon. However, hydrogen and helium gradually escaped from the atmospheres of the smaller planets, where gravity is insufficient to hold the light gases permanently. Even the heavier gases, such as oxygen and nitrogen, as well as carbon dioxide and water vapour, can gradually escape from smaller planets, such as Mars and Mercury. So, these planets now have quite thin atmospheres. The Moon and other small bodies in the solar system have essentially no atmosphere. In our solar system, only the Earth and Venus are the right size to lose most of the light gases, while retaining gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water vapour.
How is the planet HD 189733b possible?
Planets like HD 189733 b, sometimes called "hot Jupiters" are one of the most common types of planets to be detected, largely because they are the easiest to detect. Such planets likely form at a great distance from their parent stars, but their orbits decay, bringing them extremely close to their stars. Hot Jupiters often slowly lose their atmospheres.
How does the mass of a planet relate to its distance from the sun?
There is no necessary connection between mass and distance. The mass of a planet does not affect its orbital speed, for example. However the "giant planets" are further from the Sun than the less massive "terrestrial planets". The outer (more massive planets) contain a lot of gases. So, they would surely lose a lot of their mass if they were nearer the Sun. (In fact, we have found planets called "hot Jupiters" orbiting other stars. These are Jupiter type planets, but they orbit very close to their star.)
Did outer planets lose the light gases in their atmosphere?
no.
Do you lose your primary molars?
I think so
Why do outer planets not lose their gas?
Their immense gravity keeps the gases there.
How do you lose weight on planets?
By bringing heavy things as a supports to defy gravity on it.
