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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.

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Explain why the outer planets did not lose the light gases in their atmospheres?

Outer planets like Jupiter and Saturn have stronger gravity due to their larger masses, which helps them retain light gases in their atmospheres. Additionally, the colder temperatures in the outer solar system reduce the speed of gas particles, making it more difficult for them to escape the planets' gravitational pull. These factors combined allow the outer planets to hold on to their light gases.


What did the planets near the sun lose because of the sun's temperature?

Planets near the sun likely lost lighter elements like hydrogen and helium due to the sun's high temperature and solar wind. These elements were blown away, leaving behind the heavier elements that make up the terrestrial planets closer to the sun.


Did outer planets lose the light gases in their atmosphere?

Yes, outer planets like Jupiter and Saturn likely lost light gases from their atmospheres due to their gravity not being strong enough to retain these gases. Additionally, the strong solar wind and radiation in the outer solar system may have contributed to the loss of these gases over time.


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.)


What happens when the planets are to close to the sun?

When planets are too close to the sun, they experience extreme temperatures, which can lead to their surfaces getting too hot to support life. The intense heat can also cause atmospheres to evaporate and planets to lose their gaseous components. Additionally, gravitational forces from the sun can disrupt the orbits of planets and potentially even pull them into the sun.

Related Questions

What are the fastest cooling planets?

The fastest cooling planets in our solar system are typically rocky planets with thin atmospheres, like Mercury and Mars. These planets lose heat more quickly due to their lack of insulating atmospheres, which allows them to cool down rapidly after being exposed to sunlight.


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.


Explain why the outer planets did not lose the light gases in their atmospheres?

Outer planets like Jupiter and Saturn have stronger gravity due to their larger masses, which helps them retain light gases in their atmospheres. Additionally, the colder temperatures in the outer solar system reduce the speed of gas particles, making it more difficult for them to escape the planets' gravitational pull. These factors combined allow the outer planets to hold on to their light gases.


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.


What did the planets near the sun lose because of the sun's temperature?

Planets near the sun likely lost lighter elements like hydrogen and helium due to the sun's high temperature and solar wind. These elements were blown away, leaving behind the heavier elements that make up the terrestrial planets closer to the sun.


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.


Did outer planets lose the light gases in their atmosphere?

Yes, outer planets like Jupiter and Saturn likely lost light gases from their atmospheres due to their gravity not being strong enough to retain these gases. Additionally, the strong solar wind and radiation in the outer solar system may have contributed to the loss of these gases over time.


When did space lose oxygen?

Space does not "lose" oxygen as it is a vacuum. Oxygen is present in the Earth's atmosphere, but it becomes extremely sparse as you move away from the planet. The lack of oxygen in space can make it uninhabitable for humans without proper life support systems.


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.)


What happens when the planets are to close to the sun?

When planets are too close to the sun, they experience extreme temperatures, which can lead to their surfaces getting too hot to support life. The intense heat can also cause atmospheres to evaporate and planets to lose their gaseous components. Additionally, gravitational forces from the sun can disrupt the orbits of planets and potentially even pull them into the sun.


Do you lose your primary molars?

I think so