The Earth’s Atmosphere
Definition: Modern scientific research has discovered information about the atmosphere talked about in the Quran over 1400 years ago.
"By the sky which returns." (Quran 86:11)
"[He] who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling…" (Quran 2:22)
Within the first verse God swears by the sky[1] as well as its function of ‘returning’ without indicating what it ‘returns.’ In Islamic philosophy, a divine oath means the magnitude of importance of a unique relation to the inventor, and manifests His majesty and also the supreme Truth in a wonderful way.
The 2nd verse describes the incredible Act that made the sky a ‘ceiling’ for all the dwellers of planet.
Let us notice what modern atmospheric science has got to say about the role and purpose of the sky.
The atmosphere or climate is actually a word which denotes all of the air surrounding the planet earth, from the ground all the way up to the edge from where space starts. The atmosphere consists of several layers, each defined because of the numerous phenomena which occur in the layer.
This image demonstrates the average temperature profile throughout the Earth’s atmosphere. Temperatures in the thermosphere are extremely sensitive to solar activity and may vary from 500°C to 1500°C. Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons
Rain, for one, is ‘returned’ to Earth because of the clouds in the atmosphere. Describing the hydrologic cycle, Encyclopedia Britannica writes:
"Water evaporates by both the aquatic and terrestrial surroundings as it is heated up by the Sun’s energy. The rates of evaporation and chemical process depend on solar energy, as do the habits of circulation of moisture floating around and currents in the ocean. Evaporation surpasses precipitation over the oceans, and this water vapour is transported by the wind over land, in which it returns to the land through precipitation."
Besides the atmosphere return that was on the surface back to the area, but it reflects directly into space that which might damage the flora and fauna (plant life and animals) the earth maintains, such as excessive radiant-heat. In the 1990’s, collaborations between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and also the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) of Japan contributed to the International Solar-Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) Science effort. Polar, Wind and Geotail actually part of this initiative, incorporating resources and scientific communities to obtain coordinated, simultaneous investigations associated with the Sun-Earth space environment over a prolonged period of time. They have an excellent description of how the atmosphere comes back solar heat to space.
In addition to ‘returning’ rain, heat and radio waves, the climate protects us like a ceiling above our heads by eliminating deadly cosmic rays, powerful ultraviolet (UV) radiation through the Sun, and even meteorites on impact course with Earth.
Encyclopedia Britannica, explaining the role of Stratosphere, informs us about its protective role in taking in dangerous ultraviolet radiation:
"In the upper stratospheric locations, absorption of ultraviolet light from the Sun destroys oxygen molecules; recombination of oxygen atoms with O2 substances into ozone (O3) creates the ozone layer, that shields the reduced ecosphere from harmful short-wavelength radiation…More disturbing, however, is the discovery of an ever growing depletion of ozone over temperate latitudes, in which a large percentage of the world’s inhabitants resides, since the ozone layer is a shield against ultraviolet radiation, that has been found to cause skin cancer."
The mesosphere is the layer for which many meteors burn up while getting into the Earth’s atmosphere. Imagine a baseball zipping down at 30,000 miles per hour. That is how big and fast numerous meteors are. Whenever they plow through the atmosphere, meteors are incredibly hot to more than 3000 degrees Fahrenheit, so they glow. A meteor compresses air in front side of it. The air gets hotter, in turn heating the meteor.
It is an image which shows the Earth and its particular atmosphere. The mesosphere could be the dark blue edge situated on the far top of the image beneath the back.
(Image courtesy of NASA)
Planet earth is surrounded by a magnetized force field - a globule in space called "the magnetosphere" tens of thousands of miles broad. The magnetosphere acts as a shield that shields us from solar storms. Nevertheless, according to new experiences from NASA’s IMAGE spacecraft and the joint NASA/European Space Agency Cluster satellites, immense cracks often times develop in Earth’s magnetosphere and remain opened for hours. This enables the solar wind to gush thru and power stormy space weather conditions. Fortunately, these cracks do not reveal Earth’s surface to the solar breeze. Our atmosphere protects us, even if our magnetic field doesn't.
An artist’s performance of NASA’s IMAGE satellite flying by way of a ‘crack’ in Earth’s magnetized field.
How could it be possible for a 14th century desert dweller to explain the sky in a way so precise that only latest scientific discoveries have verified it? The best way is if he received disclosure from the Creator of this sky.
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