Temperature in the Stratosphere

Temperatures rise with increasing altitude in the stratosphere. Ozone molecules absorb energy from solar ultraviolet radiation, transforming the energy to heat.
Click on image for full size (28 Kb)
Original artwork by Windows to the Universe staff (Randy Russell).

Temperatures rise with increasing altitude in the stratosphere. Ozone molecules in the stratosphere absorb ultraviolet radiation coming from the Sun. The energy from the UV radiation is transformed into heat. The heating is most intense near the top of the stratosphere, so that is where the stratosphere is warmest.


The Stratosphere

Temperature in the Stratosphere

The temperature gets warmer as you go upward in the stratosphere.
Click on image for full size (28 Kb)
Original artwork by Windows to the Universe staff (Randy Russell).

The temperature gets warmer as you go upward in the stratosphere. Earth's "sunscreen", the ozone layer, is within the stratosphere. Ozone molecules absorb energy from ultraviolet "light" coming from the Sun. They turn that energy into heat. That is what heats the stratosphere.


The Stratosphere

Temperature in the Stratosphere

The temperature gets warmer as you go upward in the stratosphere.
Click on image for full size (28 Kb)
Original artwork by Windows to the Universe staff (Randy Russell).

The temperature gets warmer as you go upward in the stratosphere. Earth's "sunscreen", the ozone layer, is within the stratosphere. Ozone molecules absorb energy from ultraviolet "light" coming from the Sun. They turn that energy into heat. That is what heats the stratosphere.


The Stratosphere


Page created June 26, 2008 by Randy Russell.
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