<\/p>\n
| <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | ||
| \n This image shows the average temperature profile through the Earth\u2019s atmosphere.\u00a0 Temperatures in the thermosphere are very sensitive to solar activity and can vary from 500\u00b0C to 1500\u00b0C. \u00a0Source: Windows to the Universe, (http:\/\/www.windows.ucar.edu), the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR).\u00a0 \u00a91995-1999, 2000 The Regents of the University of Michigan; \u00a92000-04 University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n Rain, for one, is \u2018returned\u2019 to Earth by the clouds in the atmosphere.\u00a0 Explaining the hydrologic cycle, Encyclopedia Britannica writes:<\/div>\n \u201cWater evaporates from both the aquatic and terrestrial environments as it is heated by the Sun\u2019s energy.\u00a0 The rates of evaporation and precipitation depend on solar energy, as do the patterns of circulation of moisture in the air and currents in the ocean.\u00a0 Evaporation exceeds precipitation over the oceans, and this water vapor is transported by the wind over land, where it returns to the land through precipitation.\u201d(2)<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n | Not only does the atmosphere return what was on the surface back to the surface, but it reflects back into space that which might damage the flora and fauna the earth sustains, such as excessive radiant heat.\u00a0 In the 1990\u2019s, collaborations between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) of Japan resulted in the International Solar-Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) Science Initiative.\u00a0 Polar, Wind and Geotail are a part of this initiative, combining resources and scientific communities to obtain coordinated, simultaneous investigations of the Sun-Earth space environment over an extended period of time.\u00a0 They have an excellent explanation of how the atmosphere returns solar heat to space.(3)<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n Besides \u2018returning\u2019 rain, heat and radio waves, the atmosphere protects us like a ceiling above our heads by filtering out deadly cosmic rays, powerful ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the Sun, and even meteorites on collision course with Earth.(4)<\/div>\n <\/div>\n Pennsylvania State Public Broadcasting tells us:<\/div>\n \u201cThe sunlight that we can see represents one group of wavelengths, visible light.\u00a0 Other wavelengths emitted by the sun include x-rays and ultraviolet radiation.\u00a0 X-rays and some ultraviolet light waves are absorbed high in Earth\u2019s atmosphere.\u00a0 They heat the thin layer of gas there to very high temperatures.<\/div>\n <\/div>\n Ultraviolet light waves are the rays that can cause sunburn.\u00a0 Most ultraviolet light waves are absorbed by a thicker layer of gas closer to Earth called the ozone layer.\u00a0 By soaking up the deadly ultraviolet and x-rays, the atmosphere acts as a protective shield around the planet.\u00a0 Like a giant thermal blanket, the atmosphere also keeps temperatures from getting too hot or too cold.\u00a0 In addition, the atmosphere also protects us from constant bombardment by meteoroids, bits of rock and dust that travel at high speeds throughout the solar system.\u00a0 The falling stars we see at night are not stars at all; they are actually meteoroids burning up in our atmosphere due to the extreme heating they undergo.\u201d(5)<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n This is an image of Earth\u2019s polar stratospheric clouds.\u00a0 These clouds are involved in the creation of Earth\u2019s ozone hole.\u00a0 Source: Windows to the Universe, (http:\/\/www.windows.ucar.edu\/) at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR).\u00a0 \u00a91995-1999, 2000 The Regents of the University of Michigan; \u00a92000-04 University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.<\/strong><\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n Encyclopedia Britannica, describing the role of Stratosphere, tells us about its protective role in absorbing dangerous ultraviolet radiation:<\/div>\n \u201cIn the upper stratospheric regions, absorption of ultraviolet light from the Sun breaks down oxygen molecules; recombination of oxygen atoms with O2 molecules into ozone (O3) creates the ozone layer, which shields the lower ecosphere from harmful short-wavelength radiation\u2026More disturbing, however, is the discovery of a growing depletion of ozone over temperate latitudes, where a large percentage of the world\u2019s population resides, since the ozone layer serves as a shield against ultraviolet radiation, which has been found to cause skin cancer.\u201d(6)<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n The mesosphere is the layer in which many meteors burn up while entering the Earth\u2019s atmosphere.\u00a0 Imagine a baseball zipping along at 30,000 miles per hour.\u00a0 That\u2019s how big and fast many meteors are.\u00a0 When they plow through the atmosphere, meteors are heated to more than 3000 degrees Fahrenheit, and they glow.\u00a0 A meteor compresses air in front of it.\u00a0 The air heats up, in turn heating the meteor.(7)<\/div>\n <\/div>\n This is an image which shows the Earth and its atmosphere.\u00a0 The mesosphere would be the dark blue edge located on the far top of the image underneath the back. \n(Image courtesy of NASA)<\/em><\/div>\n <\/div>\n Earth is surrounded by a magnetic force field – a bubble in space called \u201cthe magnetosphere\u201d tens of thousands of miles wide.\u00a0 The magnetosphere acts as a shield that protects us from solar storms.<\/div>\n However, according to new observations from NASA\u2019s IMAGE spacecraft and the joint NASA\/European Space Agency Cluster satellites, immense cracks sometimes develop in Earth\u2019s magnetosphere and remain open for hours.\u00a0 This allows the solar wind to gush through and power stormy space weather.\u00a0 Fortunately, these cracks do not expose Earth\u2019s surface to the solar wind.\u00a0 Our atmosphere protects us, even when our magnetic field does not.(8)<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n An artist\u2019s rendition of NASA\u2019s IMAGE satellite flying through a \u2018crack\u2019 in Earth\u2019s magnetic field.<\/strong><\/div>\n How would it be possible for a fourteenth century desert dweller to describe the sky in a manner so precise that only recent scientific discoveries have confirmed it? \u00a0The only way is if he received revelation from the Creator of the sky.<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n Footnotes:<\/div>\n \n [1]<\/a> Al-Samaa\u2019, the Arabic word translated here as \u2018sky\u2019 includes earth\u2019s atmosphere as indicated by the verse 2:164.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n [2]<\/a> \u201dBiosphere.\u201d Encyclopedia Britannica from Encyclopedia Britannica Premium Service. \n(http:\/\/www.britannica.com\/eb\/article?tocId=70872)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n [3]<\/a> (http:\/\/www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov\/stargaze\/Sweather1.htm)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n [4]<\/a> Atmospheric, Climate & Environment Information Programme of the Manchester Metropolitan University at (http:\/\/www.ace.mmu.ac.uk\/eae\/Atmosphere\/atmosphere.html)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n [5]<\/a> (http:\/\/www.witn.psu.edu\/articles\/article.phtml?article_id=255&show_id=44)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n |