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The Ionosphere |
Different regions of the ionosphere make long distance radio communication possible by reflecting the radio waves back to Earth. It is also home to auroras. Temperatures in the ionosphere just keep getting hotter as you go up! |
The upper atmosphere is ionized by solar radiation. That means the Sun's energy is so strong at this level, that it breaks apart molecules. So there ends up being electrons floating around and molecules which have lost or gained electrons. When the Sun is active, more and more ionization happens! Different regions of the ionosphere make long distance radio communication possible by reflecting the radio waves back to Earth. It is also home to auroras. Temperatures in the ionosphere just keep getting hotter as you go up! |
The upper atmosphere is ionized by solar radiation. Under normal conditions free electrons and ions tend to recombine and a balance is established between electron and ion production and loss. Ionization processes release energy which heat up the upper atmosphere. So temperature increases with height in the ionosphere region to the extent that by 150-200km, the Earth's atmosphere is extremely hot compared to surface temperatures. Different regions of the ionosphere make long distance radio communication possible by reflecting the radio waves back to Earth. It is also home to auroras and the mega-ampere currents that heat the atmosphere at high latitudes during geomagnetically active times. During storms, depletions and enhancements of ionization occur depending on the local time and geographical location. Aeronomy is a term of recent origin which is applied to the processes, both physical and chemical, of the ionosphere. |
