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Layers of the Earth's Atmosphere



This image shows the average temperature profile through the Earth's atmosphere.
Click on image for full size with labels (49K JPEG)
There are five layers in the atmosphere. The atmosphere thins out until it reaches space.

1) The troposphere is where weather occurs. You breathe the air in the troposphere.
2) Many airplanes fly in the stratosphere because it is very stable. Also, the ozone layer is there.
3) Many rock fragments from space burn up in the mesosphere.
4) The thermosphere is very thin. It's where the space shuttle orbits.
5) The upper limit of our atmosphere is the exosphere.

Does the ionosphere count as another layer?

Image showing the temperature of the atmosphere throughout different layers

Image showing what man-made and natural phenomena occur in each layer of the atmosphere

Image showing the layers of the atmosphere with emphasis on the ionized layers


Last modified September 23, 2004 by Jennifer Bergman.
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