190,000 km

6,200 miles

The thermosphere starts just above the mesosphere and extends to 600 kilometers (372 miles) high.

Because there are relatively few molecules and atoms in the thermosphere, even absorbing small amounts of solar energy can significantly increase the air temperature, making the thermosphere the hottest layer in the atmosphere.

The thermosphere lies between the exosphere and the mesosphere. “Thermo” means heat, and the temperature in this layer can reach up to 4,500 degrees Fahrenheit. If you were to hang out in the thermosphere, though, you would be very cold because there aren’t enough gas molecules to transfer the heat to you.

The thermo- in thermosphere means “heat.” Even though the air in the thermosphere is thin, it is very hot, up to 1,800°C. This is because sunlight strikes the thermosphere first. Nitrogen and oxygen molecules convert this energy into heat. Despite the high temperature, you would not feel warm in the thermosphere.

The main components of air in the thermosphere include helium, atomic nitrogen, and atomic oxygen. The thermosphere absorbs a lot of the UV radiation and X-ray given off by the sun. When the sun is more active and the thermosphere heats up more, this layer of earth’s atmosphere increases in size.

Though the thermosphere has high temperature, it does not feel hot. Temperature is a measure of the energy of particles. Heat is generated when particles touch one another. Particles in the thermosphere are so far apart they don’t transfer much energy to one another.

Solar Radiation The source of the thermosphere’s heat is radiation emitted by the sun. The thermosphere absorbs much of the radiation that Earth receives from the sun, leaving only a fraction to actually reach the surface.

The thermosphere is the atmospheric region from ∼85 to ∼500 km altitude, containing the ionosphere. It is characterized by high temperature and large variability, in response to changes in solar ultraviolet radiation and solar-driven geomagnetic activity.

The air in the thermosphere is very thin (the few particles) there is little kinetic energy and can not be compared to air closer to the earth. Therefore the overall temperature feels cold (not that you would have exposed skin) if you got hit by one of the particles it would burn right through you.

This thermosphere greatly helps in protecting the Earth and making complete exploration of the space and making space communication possible.

The Earth’s atmosphere has four primary layers: the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. These layers protect our planet by absorbing harmful radiation. The thermosphere increases in temperature with altitude because the atomic oxygen and nitrogen cannot radiate the heat from this absorption.

thermosphere—temperature increases with height. The temperatures can rise to 1,500 degrees Celsius, but it would not feel warm because of the low air pressure in this layer. mesopause—the boundary between the mesosphere and the thermosphere; the coldest place on Earth.

In two hours, a weather balloon can rise above the clouds, higher than the paths of jet planes, passing through the ozone layer in the stratosphere. Reaching altitudes of 35 km (22 miles) or higher, the balloons endure temperatures as cold as -90° C (-130° F).

Why does the temperature increase in the thermosphere? The temperature increases rapidly in this layer due to the absorption of huge amounts of incoming high energy solar radiation by atoms of nitrogen and oxygen. This radiation is then converted into heat energy and temperatures can climb in excess of 2700 (degrees)F.

The Thermosphere and Ionosphere 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 particles in the exosphere are moving very quickly, so the temperature there is quite hot. Since the “air” is so thin in the exosphere – it is almost a vacuum – there are very, very few particles. We feel warmth when particles hit our skin and transfer heat energy to us.

In the troposphere, the temperature generally decreases with altitude. The reason is that the troposphere’s gases absorb very little of the incoming solar radiation. Instead, the ground absorbs this radiation and then heats the tropospheric air by conduction and convection.

As you increase in elevation, there is less air above you thus the pressure decreases. As the pressure decreases, air molecules spread out further (i.e. air expands) and the temperature decreases. If the humidity is at 100 percent (because it’s snowing), the temperature decreases more slowly with height.

The thermosphere is uninhabited with the exception of the International Space Station, which orbits the Earth within the middle of the thermosphere, between 408 and 410 kilometres (254 and 255 mi).

troposphere

thermosphere

The Earth’s atmosphere is an extremely thin sheet of air extending from the surface of the Earth to the edge of space. The Earth is a sphere with a roughly 8000 mile diameter; the thickness of the atmosphere is about 60 miles.