As you go higher in the mesosphere, the air gets colder. The air is much thinner (less dense) in the mesosphere than in the stratosphere below. There are fewer air molecules to absorb incoming electromagnetic radiation from the Sun.

Temperatures increase with altitude because of increasing amounts of ozone. The ozone layer within the stratosphere absorbs harmful ultraviolet rays of sunlight. As the mesosphere extends upward above the stratosphere, temperatures decrease.

Temperature decreases with height throughout the mesosphere. The coldest temperatures in Earth’s atmosphere, about -90° C (-130° F), are found near the top of this layer. The boundary between the mesosphere and the thermosphere above it is called the mesopause.

The temperature begins to increase with altitude in the stratosphere. This warming is caused by a form of oxygen called ozone (O3) absorbing ultraviolet radiation from the sun. The overlying mesosphere does not absorb solar radiation, so the temperature decreases with altitude.

In the mesosphere, temperature decreases as altitude increases, to as low as −93°C. In the thermosphere, temperature increases at altitude increases, to as high as 1,727°C.

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.

Temperatures in the mesosphere decrease with altitude. Because there are few gas molecules in the mesosphere to absorb the Sun’s radiation, the heat source is the stratosphere below. The mesosphere is extremely cold, especially at its top, about -90°C (-130°F).

thermosphere

The mesosphere is the coldest atmospheric layer surrounding the earth. It becomes cold enough to freeze water vapour in its atmosphere into ice clouds. These ice clouds are blue-white and are called noctilucent clouds or polar mesospheric clouds. These clouds are more visible at sunset from the earth’s poles.

mesosphere

Troposphere

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).

The thermosphere is directly above the mesosphere and below the exosphere. The thermosphere is typically about 200° C (360° F) hotter in the daytime than at night, and roughly 500° C (900° F) hotter when the Sun is very active than at other times.

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.

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.

Exosphere temperature and height In exosphere, the higher the height is, the higher the temperature would be. This is mainly due to the following characteristics of exosphere: The exosphere is found above the thermosphere and is the least dense layer of the atmosphere of Earth.

As we go up or our altitude increases, temperature falls. The rate of decrease of temperature is 6.5 degrees C for each 1 km altitude change. This can also be written as 3.6 degree F for every 1000 ft increase in altitude.

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.

8 to 14.5 kilometers

Fact Sheet

• The troposphere contains 75% of the atmosphere’s total mass.
• In either space or time the troposphere is not constant.
• Weather occurs in the troposphere.
• The troposphere is 10 miles from the equator.
• The troposphere is 5-7 miles above the poles.
• Does not contain ozone.

Characteristics of troposphere

• it is the first atmospheric layer closet to Earth’s surface.
• the troposphere is the region where weather occurs.
• the temperature of troposphere decreases with an increase in height.
• the troposphere makes up approximately 75% of Earth’s atmosphere by mass.

Most light aircraft and turboprop aircraft fly within the troposphere and this is where most of the water vapour and therefore cloud formation exists.

Do pilots sleep in flight? The simple answer is yes, pilots do and are allowed to sleep during flight but there are strict rules controlling this practice. Pilots would only normally sleep on long haul flights, although sleep on short haul flights is permitted to avoid the effects of fatigue.

around 42,000 feet