What surrounds the Earth?

 

 

Long ago, people believed the sky was a roof that stretched over the earth. Today, we know that a thick layer of air surrounds the earth like the skin on an orange. But unlike an orange skin, the air moves around the earth, and it reaches far above the earth’s surface. This moving cover of air is a mixture of gases called the earth’s atmosphere.

Air covers the earth everywhere. The pull of gravity holds it there. Near the earth, the air is thick, or heavy. Further away from the earth, the air becomes thinner. Furthest away from the earth’s surface, the air thins and disappears altogether. Where this happens is where space begins!

Picture Credit : Google