2. Troposphere
The troposphere starts at the ground and
extends about 30,000 feet to 56,000 feet up. It
is the layer where all weather takes place. It is
heated mostly by the warm surface of the
earth, meaning that the higher you go in the
troposphere, the colder it gets.
3. Stratosphere
The stratosphere is the next layer up in the
atmosphere. This is the layer planes fly in, so
that they are above weather. This layer has the
ozone in it, ozone is a gas that absorbs
harmful radiation and keeps it from reaching
ground level. The ozone heats up as it
absorbs, so the higher you go the hotter it
gets. The stratosphere is from the top of the
troposphere to 170,000 feet above sea level.
At the top of the Troposphere, temperatures
are around
4. Mesosphere
The next layer is the mesosphere, stretching
from the top of the stratosphere to about
280,000 feet up. The higher you go in this
layer, the colder it gets. At the top of the
Mesosphere temperatures can reach -150
degrees. In this layer, most meteorites and
other debris from space burn up while entering
the atmosphere.
5. Thermosphere
The thermosphere is the next layer up. The
Thermosphere absorbs harmful radiation
coming from this sun. Absorbing this causes
the Thermosphere to heat up, sometimes up to
2,700 degrees. It spans about 300 miles.
6.
7. How layers Differ
The layers are all very different. They have different
roles in protecting life on earth and different
properties. The troposphere is a smaller layer where
weather occurs. Weather doesn’t occur in any other
layer. The stratosphere is a little bigger in height than
the troposphere and is the only layer where ozone
molecules absorb and protect us from radiation, in the
troposphere for example, the ozone molecules are a
dangerous gas. The mesosphere is the layer that
burns up meteors because the meteors collide with
the gas molecules and the friction of the collision
burns up matter from space. The thermosphere is by
far the largest layer, and it is responsible for absorbing
harmful radiation (not the same kind as the
stratosphere). Every layer is different and has