The Earth and Its Environment

The IGY observations of the earth were related to all its parts, core, crust, oceans, and atmosphere. The sun, the dominant feature in the earth's environment, has been observed more fully and with greater continuity than ever before. The moon's position in the sky has been intensively measured for geodetic reasons. Meteors, observed both visually and by radio, will tell us much about the upper atmosphere. The satellites have revealed new features of the region above the F layer. The sun's atmosphere envelopes the earth and is extremely hot. The heat conducted from it warms the earth's outermost atmosphere and helps to extend it, perhaps to half the distance to the moon.