Myth vs Reality: Composition of Earth's Atmosphere
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This short segment addresses the misconception that Earth's atmosphere is mostly oxygen.
Atmosphere: Video Segments
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Title
Time
Did You Know: Monitoring Greenhouse Gases
02:40
Global Feature Tour: Ash, Dust, Clouds, and Smoke
03:58
Did You Know: Volcanoes and Climate Change
01:32
Did You Know: Transparency of Earth's Atmosphere
01:15
Myth vs Reality: Composition of Earth's Atmosphere
00:40
Where on Earth: Atmospheric Gravity Waves
03:04
Myth vs Reality: Temperature in Earth's Atmosphere
00:40
World Of Change: Seasons of the Indus River Valley
02:32
Credits
Produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Office of Public Outreach in collaboration with the NASA Earth Observatory (https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/).
Transcript
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[UPBEAT JAZZ MUSIC]
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Text, Myth vs. Reality
Myth. Earth's atmosphere is mostly oxygen.
Reality. Oxygen gas makes up less than 21% of the volume of Earth's atmosphere. The most abundant gas is nitrogen, which makes up more than 78%. Most of the remaining 1% is argon, with small quantities of carbon dioxide and other gases.