The atmosphere protects life on earth by shielding it from incoming ultraviolet (UV) radiation, meteors, keeping the planet warm through insulation, and preventing extremes between day and night temperatures. The sun heats layers of the atmosphere causing it to drive air movement and weather patterns around the world.  The Earth's atmosphere is composed of five major layers characterized by chemical composition, density, and temperature changes with height.  From the surface of the Earth moving upwards, the atmospheric layers are troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere.  Additionally, Van Allen Belt also protects the Earth.

A Van Allen radiation belt is a zone of energetic charged particles. James Van Allen discovered that Earth has two such belts.  Most of the particles that form the belts are thought to come from solar wind and cosmic rays.  By trapping the solar wind, the magnetic field deflects those energetic particles and protects the atmosphere from destruction.  The belts are in the inner region of Earth's magnetic field. The belts trap energetic electrons and protons. Other nuclei, such as alpha particles, are less prevalent.

In 2023, the scientists discovered that because the moon doesn’t have an atmosphere to insulate it, it suffers drastic temperature shifts – from up to 121C (250F) during the peak of the day to -97C (-208F) at night. These swings cause the moon’s surface to expand when it’s hot and contract when it’s cold, leading to shakes and cracks near the surface.