Ionosphere
Thermosphere
The thermosphere (literally "heat sphere") is the outer layer of the atmosphere, separated from the mesosphere by the mesopause. Within the thermosphere temperatures rise continually to well beyond 1000°C. The few molecules that are present in the thermosphere receive extraordinary amounts of energy from the Sun, causing the layer to warm to such high temperatures. Air temperature, however, is a measure of the kinetic energy of air molecules, not of the total energy stored by the air. Therefore, since the air is so thin within the thermosphere, such temperature values are not comparable to those of the troposphere or stratosphere. Although the measured temperature is very hot, the thermosphere would actually feel very cold to us because the total energy of only a few air molecules residing there would not be enough to transfer any appreciable heat to our skin. The lower part of the thermosphere, from 80 to 550 km above the Earth's surface, contains the ionosphere. Beyond the ionosphere extending out to perhaps 10,000 km is the exosphere or outer thermosphere, which gradually merges into space. Auroras occur in the thermosphere, and it’s where space stations orbit.
Ionosphere
The ionosphere is a layer of ionized air in the atmosphere extending from almost 80 km above the Earth's surface altitudes of 600 km and more. Technically, the ionosphere is not another atmospheric layer. It occupies the same region of the upper atmosphere as the thermosphere. In this region of the atmosphere the Sun's energy is so strong that it breaks apart molecules and atoms of air, leaving ions (atoms with missing electrons) and free-floating electrons. The ionosphere is the region of the atmosphere where the aurorae occur. Ionisation of air molecules in the ionosphere is produced by ultraviolet radiation from the Sun, and to a lesser extent by high-energy particles from the Sun and from cosmic rays.
Exosphere
The exosphere is the highest layer of the atmosphere. Together
The thermosphere (literally "heat sphere") is the outer layer of the atmosphere, separated from the mesosphere by the mesopause. Within the thermosphere temperatures rise continually to well beyond 1000°C. The few molecules that are present in the thermosphere receive extraordinary amounts of energy from the Sun, causing the layer to warm to such high temperatures. Air temperature, however, is a measure of the kinetic energy of air molecules, not of the total energy stored by the air. Therefore, since the air is so thin within the thermosphere, such temperature values are not comparable to those of the troposphere or stratosphere. Although the measured temperature is very hot, the thermosphere would actually feel very cold to us because the total energy of only a few air molecules residing there would not be enough to transfer any appreciable heat to our skin. The lower part of the thermosphere, from 80 to 550 km above the Earth's surface, contains the ionosphere. Beyond the ionosphere extending out to perhaps 10,000 km is the exosphere or outer thermosphere, which gradually merges into space. Auroras occur in the thermosphere, and it’s where space stations orbit.
Ionosphere
The ionosphere is a layer of ionized air in the atmosphere extending from almost 80 km above the Earth's surface altitudes of 600 km and more. Technically, the ionosphere is not another atmospheric layer. It occupies the same region of the upper atmosphere as the thermosphere. In this region of the atmosphere the Sun's energy is so strong that it breaks apart molecules and atoms of air, leaving ions (atoms with missing electrons) and free-floating electrons. The ionosphere is the region of the atmosphere where the aurorae occur. Ionisation of air molecules in the ionosphere is produced by ultraviolet radiation from the Sun, and to a lesser extent by high-energy particles from the Sun and from cosmic rays.
Exosphere
The exosphere is the highest layer of the atmosphere. Together