How thick is Earth's atmosphere?

Answer 1

* About 560 KM or 350 M. There is no clear dividing line and atmosphere molecules can be found outside the atmosphere. There are also different layers. * The atmosphere is a sort of bubble of air that surrounds the earth and gives us air to breathe, as well as deciding the temperature and weather we get. The atmosphere is held in place by the earth'sgravity pulling on it. Beyond the atmosphere is space. Here are the main layers of the atmosphere. (sometimes if people are more precise there will be sectoins within these, but these are all you need to know about unless you do physics at university level). * Troposphere (10-15 km above the earth's surface) - creates our weather, makes up 75% of the earth's atmosphere and it is wider at the equator than the poles. * Stratosphere (15-50 km above the earth's surface) - This is the level that most planes fly at here the temperature increases with altitude because of the sun's rays and ozone. * Mesosphere (50-80 km above the earth's surface) - This is where meteors slow down to make what we would call a shooting star. * Thermosphere (80+ km above the earth's surface) - The temperature here can get higher than 1000 degrees, however to us it will feel cold because of the molecules and our skin. This is where you find auroras, space shuttles and satalites. There are very few molocules here. SOURCES = http://www.vtaide.com/png/atmosphere.htm&usg=__iHL2MRKyNmkQU1sAkJ04aYyMU8=&h=600&w=800&sz=30&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=tB6CHcnNaQGXzM:&tbnh=107&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dthe%2Batmosphere%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-gb:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7GEUA_en%26sa%3DX%26um%3D1and yahoo! answers

Answer 2

The Earth's atmosphere is about 300 miles (480 km) thick, but most of the atmosphere (about 80%) is within 10 miles (16 km) of the surface of the Earth.