Our atmosphere, our climate.
Earth is the only planet in the solar system with an atmosphere that can sustain life. The blanket of gases that surrounds our home planet not only contains the air that we breathe but also protects us from blasts of heat and radiation emanating from the sun. It warms the planet by day and cools it at night.
Earth's atmosphere is divided into five main layers: the exosphere, the thermosphere, the mesosphere, the stratosphere and the troposphere, according to NASA. The atmosphere thins out in each higher layer until the gases dissipate in space.
There is no distinct boundary between the atmosphere and space, but an imaginary line about 62 miles (100 kilometers) from the surface, called the Karman line, is usually where scientists say atmosphere meets outer space.
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