The region above the stratosphere is called the mesosphere. The thermosphere lies above the mesopause, and is a region in which temperatures again increase with height. This temperature increase is caused by the absorption of energetic ultraviolet and X-Ray radiation from the sun. The region of the atmosphere above about 80 km is also caused the "ionosphere", since the energetic solar radiation knocks electrons off molecules and atoms, turning them into "ions" with a positive charge.
The temperature of the thermosphere varies between night and day and between the seasons, as do the numbers of ions and electrons which are present. The ionosphere reflects and absorbs radio waves, allowing us to receive shortwave radio broadcasts in New Zealand from other parts of the world.
The region above about km is called the exosphere. It contains mainly oxygen and hydrogen atoms, but there are so few of them that they rarely collide - they follow "ballistic" trajectories under the influence of gravity, and some of them escape right out into space.
The earth behaves like a huge magnet. It traps electrons negative charge and protons positive , concentrating them in two bands about 3, and 16, km above the globe - the Van Allen "radiation" belts. This outer region surrounding the earth, where charged particles spiral along the magnetic field lines, is called the magnetosphere. Jump to Navigation Skip to main content.
The different layers of the atmosphere The atmosphere can be divided into layers based on its temperature, as shown in the figure below. The Troposphere This is the lowest part of the atmosphere - the part we live in.
The Stratosphere This extends upwards from the tropopause to about 50 km. The Mesosphere The region above the stratosphere is called the mesosphere. The Thermosphere and Ionosphere The thermosphere lies above the mesopause, and is a region in which temperatures again increase with height. The Exosphere The region above about km is called the exosphere. The Magnetosphere The earth behaves like a huge magnet.
Climate change information for climate solvers. Helping you understand the science of climate change. Technicians release a balloon at Lauder. Chemical sensors attached will measure the vertical ozone profile up to an altitude of around 35 kilometres before descending.
Layers of the atmosphere. See original]. Related content. Media Release. Scientists reveal how landmark ban gave planet fighting chance. Searching southern skies. Feature story. Unlike the troposphere, the stratosphere actually gets warmer the higher you go! That trend of rising temperatures with altitude means that air in the stratosphere lacks the turbulence and updrafts of the troposphere beneath.
Commercial passenger jets fly in the lower stratosphere, partly because this less-turbulent layer provides a smoother ride.
The jet stream flows near the border between the troposphere and the stratosphere. Above the stratosphere is the mesosphere. It extends upward to a height of about 85 km 53 miles above our planet. Most meteors burn up in the mesosphere.
Unlike the stratosphere, temperatures once again grow colder as you rise up through the mesosphere. The layer of very rare air above the mesosphere is called the thermosphere. High-energy X-rays and UV radiation from the Sun are absorbed in the thermosphere, raising its temperature to hundreds or at times thousands of degrees. However, the air in this layer is so thin that it would feel freezing cold to us! In many ways, the thermosphere is more like outer space than a part of the atmosphere.
Many satellites actually orbit Earth within the thermosphere! Variations in the amount of energy coming from the Sun exert a powerful influence on both the height of the top of this layer and the temperature within it. Because of this, the top of the thermosphere can be found anywhere between and 1, km to miles above the ground. The aurora, the Northern Lights and Southern Lights, occur in the thermosphere.
Although some experts consider the thermosphere to be the uppermost layer of our atmosphere, others consider the exosphere to be the actual "final frontier" of Earth's gaseous envelope. As you might imagine, the "air" in the exosphere is very, very, very thin, making this layer even more space-like than the thermosphere. In fact, the air in the exosphere is constantly - though very gradually - "leaking" out of Earth's atmosphere into outer space.
There is no clear-cut upper boundary where the exosphere finally fades away into space.
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