How can the absolute vacuum of space be connected to the atmosphere

Gravity. The atmosphere has enough mass to be pulled towards earth.

>>8234062
gravity

>>8234071
Yeah, but then how are rockets, satellites, etc able to escape Earth's gravity? Of course they have added thrust but isn't the whole idea that gravity gradually diminishes the higher up, or the further into the atmosphere, you go? At the outer limits of the atmosphere there should be very little gravity holding it to the Earth. At some point, shouldn't the vacuum of space outweigh the effects of gravity on some portion of the outer atmosphere?

>>8234086
Satellites don't actually escape the earths gravity. They just get high enough that gravity pulls them towards the earth at a rate that doesn't overcome it's forward propulsion so literally satellites are just perpetually falling to earth but at the same rate earth is moving away behind them.

As to what you're saying about the outer limits you're actually right and it's already happened. The atmosphere that is "left" is what has enough mass to not escape the earth's gravitational pull. Think about one of the planets that is a gas giant - if what you were saying was an active event then Jupiter would be shrinking all the time (which it isn't).

>>8234086
The vacuum of space isn't negative pressure, it's 0 pressure. Gravity is the force that dominates space.

>>8234062
Gravity/conservation of momentum/electromagnetism/interstellar winds

>>8234100
but air is much more than zero
[should equalize]

>>8234121
It is equalized given gravity's pull on the atmosphere.

>>8234121
>much more than zero

Hardly. The edge of the atmosphere is not well defined at all. Even in "space" there are still stray air particles under the influence of gravity.

>>8234100
Since space is 0 pressure and I guess is literally just nothing but empty space how can space ships control their flight once they enter that realm?

>>8234095
I see now, yes. I think that's a good answer. Thanks for that.

>>8234130
They mostly choose a single trajectory and let gravity of the moon and planets push them around with some serious pre-planning. But they do have thrusters to adjust the trajectory mid-flight. They don't have the ability to change their path completely.

>>8234062
So, space isn't quite a vacuum. I think there are approximately 500 atoms per square meter in space (which is like being one of two people in the solar system and having the other on be on pluto). But anyways, you're asking a question closely related to kinetic gas theory.

>>8234071
Is basically right, but only in one direction. There is a distribution of particles that make up the atmosphere and and the more energy they have, the higher up they go, and because there are less and less particles that have such energies, the atmosphere gets thinner and thinner as you go up.

As for your question here >>8234086
Yeah, you're right, and any particle that has sufficient escape velocity will escape into space. However, this is kind of interfered with by a kind of "screening" effect as air molecules bump into themselves and lose energy and equally distribute it amongst the different levels of the atmosphere.

But yes, gravity diminishes inversely with the square of the distance from the center of mass. However, to completely escape from Earth's gravity is something we don't do very often. Even going to the moon simply means shifting one's orbit around the earth to a higher altitude.