Mesosphere

 

Mesosphere

Above the stratosphere is the mesosphere and it extends to a height of about 85 km (53 miles) from the ground. Here, the temperature grows colder as you rise up through the mesosphere. The coldest parts of our atmosphere are located in this layer and can reach –90°C.

Thermosphere

Thermosphere lies above the mesosphere and this is a region where the temperature increases as you go higher up. The temperature increase is caused due to the absorption of energetic ultraviolet and X-Ray radiation from the sun. However, the air in this layer is so thin that it would feel freezing cold to us! Satellites orbit Earth within the thermosphere. Temperatures in the upper thermosphere can range from about 500° C to 2,000° C or higher. The aurora, the Northern Lights and Southern Lights, occur in the thermosphere.

Exosphere

Exosphere is the final frontier of the Earth’s gaseous envelope. The air in the exosphere is constantly but gradually leaking out of the Earth’s atmosphere into outer space. There is no clear cut upper boundary where the exosphere finally fades away into space. 

Ionosphere

The ionosphere isn’t a distinct layer unlike other layers in the atmosphere. The ionosphere is a series of regions in parts of the mesosphere and thermosphere where high-energy radiation from the Sun has knocked electrons loose from their parent atoms and molecules

 

Summary of Layers of Atmosphere
Region	Altitude Range (km)	Temperature Range(0oC)	Important Characteristics
Troposphere	0-11	15 to -56	Weather occurs here
Stratosphere	11-50	-56 to -2	The ozone layer is present here
Mesosphere	50-85	-2 to -92	Meteors burn in this layer
Thermosphere	85-800	-92 to 1200	Aurora’s occur here