The
thermosphere is the biggest of all the layers of the
Earth's atmosphereThe atmosphere of Earth is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by Earth's gravity. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention , and reducing temperature extremes between day and night...
directly above the
mesosphereThe mesosphere is the layer of the Earth's atmosphere that is directly above the stratosphere and directly below the thermosphere. In the mesosphere temperature decreases with increasing height. The upper boundary of the mesosphere is the mesopause, which can be the coldest naturally occurring...
and directly below the
exosphereThe exosphere is the uppermost layer of Earth's atmosphere. In the exosphere, an upward travelling molecule moving fast enough to attain escape velocity can escape to space with a low chance of collisions; if it is moving below escape velocity it will be prevented from escaping from the celestial...
. Within this layer, ultraviolet radiation causes
ionAn ion is an atom or molecule in which the total number of electrons is not equal to the total number of protons, giving it a net positive or negative electrical charge. The name was given by physicist Michael Faraday for the substances that allow a current to pass between electrodes in a...
ization. The
International Space StationThe International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
has a stable orbit within the middle of the thermosphere, between 320 and 380 km (198.8 and 236.1 mi).
AurorasAn aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere...
also occur in the thermosphere.
Named from the
GreekGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
θερμός (
thermos) for heat, the thermosphere begins about 80 kilometres (49.7 mi) above the Earth. At these high altitudes, the residual atmospheric gases sort into strata according to
molecular massThe molecular mass of a substance is the mass of one molecule of that substance, in unified atomic mass unit u...
(see turbosphere). Thermospheric
temperatureTemperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
s increase with altitude due to absorption of highly energetic solar radiation by the small amount of residual
oxygenOxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
still present. Temperatures are highly dependent on solar activity, and can rise to 1500 °C (2,732 °F). Radiation causes the atmosphere particles in this layer to become electrically charged (see
ionosphereThe ionosphere is a part of the upper atmosphere, comprising portions of the mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere, distinguished because it is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an important part in atmospheric electricity and forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere...
), enabling
radio waveRadio Wave may refer to:*Radio frequency*Radio Wave 96.5, a radio station in Blackpool, UK...
s to bounce off and be received beyond the horizon. In the
exosphereThe exosphere is the uppermost layer of Earth's atmosphere. In the exosphere, an upward travelling molecule moving fast enough to attain escape velocity can escape to space with a low chance of collisions; if it is moving below escape velocity it will be prevented from escaping from the celestial...
, beginning at 500 to 1000 km (310.7 to 621.4 mi) above the Earth's surface, the atmosphere turns into
spaceOuter space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....
.
The highly diluted gas in this layer can reach 2500 °C (4,532 °F) during the day. Even though the temperature is so high, one would not feel warm in the thermosphere, because it is so near vacuum that there is not enough contact with the few atoms of gas to transfer much heat. A normal
thermometerDeveloped during the 16th and 17th centuries, a thermometer is a device that measures temperature or temperature gradient using a variety of different principles. A thermometer has two important elements: the temperature sensor Developed during the 16th and 17th centuries, a thermometer (from the...
would read significantly below 0 °C (32 °F), due to the energy lost by thermal radiation overtaking the energy acquired from the atmospheric gas by direct contact. In the
anacoustic zoneThe anacoustic zone is the region of the atmosphere of Earth above about where there are still enough gas molecules to produce substantial drag, but they aren't close enough to transmit sound because the probability of molecular collisions is so low....
above 160 kilometres (99.4 mi), the density is so low that molecular interactions are too infrequent to permit the transmission of sound.
The dynamics of the lower thermosphere (below approximately 120 kilometres (74.6 mi)) are dominated by
atmospheric tideAtmospheric tides are global-scale periodic oscillations of the atmosphere. In many ways they are analogous to ocean tides. Atmospheric tides can be excited by:*The regular day/night cycle in the insolation of the atmosphere...
, which is driven, in part, by the very significant
diurnal heatingDiurnal temperature variation is a meteorological term that relates to the variation in temperature that occurs from the highs of the day to the cool of nights.-Temperature lag:Temperature lag is an important factor in diurnal temperature variation...
. The atmospheric tide dissipates above this level since molecular concentrations do not support the coherent motion needed for fluid flow.
See also
- Tropopause
The tropopause is the atmospheric boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere.-Definition:Going upward from the surface, it is the point where air ceases to cool with height, and becomes almost completely dry...
- Thermopause
The thermopause is the atmospheric boundary of Earth's energy system, located at the top of the thermosphere.Below this, the atmosphere is defined to be active on the insolation received, due to the increased presence of heavier gases such as monoatomic oxygen. The solar constant is thus expressed...
- Ionosphere
The ionosphere is a part of the upper atmosphere, comprising portions of the mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere, distinguished because it is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an important part in atmospheric electricity and forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere...
- Stratopause
The stratopause is the level of the atmosphere which is the boundary between two layers, stratosphere and the mesosphere...
- Troposphere
The troposphere is the lowest portion of Earth's atmosphere. It contains approximately 80% of the atmosphere's mass and 99% of its water vapor and aerosols....
- Stratosphere
The stratosphere is the second major layer of Earth's atmosphere, just above the troposphere, and below the mesosphere. It is stratified in temperature, with warmer layers higher up and cooler layers farther down. This is in contrast to the troposphere near the Earth's surface, which is cooler...
- Mesosphere
The mesosphere is the layer of the Earth's atmosphere that is directly above the stratosphere and directly below the thermosphere. In the mesosphere temperature decreases with increasing height. The upper boundary of the mesosphere is the mesopause, which can be the coldest naturally occurring...
- Exosphere
The exosphere is the uppermost layer of Earth's atmosphere. In the exosphere, an upward travelling molecule moving fast enough to attain escape velocity can escape to space with a low chance of collisions; if it is moving below escape velocity it will be prevented from escaping from the celestial...
- Mesopause
The mesopause is the temperature minimum at the boundary between the mesosphere and the thermosphere atmospheric regions. Due to the lack of solar heating and very strong radiative cooling from carbon dioxide, the mesopause is the coldest place on Earth with temperatures as low as -100°C...
- Van Allen radiation belt
The Van Allen radiation belt is a torus of energetic charged particles around Earth, which is held in place by Earth's magnetic field. It is believed that most of the particles that form the belts come from solar wind, and other particles by cosmic rays. It is named after its discoverer, James...
- Kármán line
The Kármán line lies at an altitude of above the Earth's sea level, and is commonly used to define the boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and outer space...
- Low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...