Atmosphere Layers
Layers of the Atmosphere exosph ere 0 to about15 km 15 km to about 50 km 50 km to about 100 km 100 km to about 500 km Above about 500 km Tardy Students Make Things Exciting Approximate Altitude Mnemonic
Layers of the Atmosphere exosph ere 0 to about15 km 15 km to about 50 km 50 km to about 100 km 100 km to about 500 km Above about 500 km Tardy Students Make Things Exciting Approximate Altitude Mnemonic
Troposphere Densest layer Air gets colder and thinner as altitude increases Most of the water vapor, weather, and life on Earth occur here Greenhouse effect: o Sunlight radiates off the surface and is trapped Most airplanes fly here
Stratosphere Air gets thinner and dryer Air gets warmer as altitude increases Ozone layer – a type of oxygen that absorbs UV rays from the sun Some very high clouds and airplanes can be found here
Mesosphere Air is thin and dry Coldest layer Air gets colder as altitude increases Meteoroids burn up here (shooting stars)
Thermosphere Warmest layer (more than 2000°F!) Air warms with altitude International Space Station orbits here Auroras occur here
Exosphere Air gets thinner as molecules spread out into space This is where outer space begins