The mesosphere also has the atmospheres highest clouds. Some astrobiologists think that if life exists elsewhere in the solar system, it will be near vents at the bottom of Europa's ocean. The term lithosphere is derived from the Greek words "lithos . Like all other parts of the atmosphere, these layers vary with season and latitude. Saturns largest moon, Titan, has a thick atmosphere made mostly of nitrogen and methane. Research suggests that tiny explosions known as nanoflares may help push the temperature up by providing sporadic bursts reaching up to 18 million F (10 million C). Elves are dim, halo-shaped discharges that appear even higher in the mesosphere.IonosphereThe ionosphere extends from the top half of the mesosphere all the way to the exosphere. It begins at the surface of the Earth and extends out to about 4 to 12 miles (6 to 20 km). Hubble telescope eyes galactic site of distant star explosion (video), China's Zhurong Mars rover finds signs of recent water activity on Red Planet, SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket aborts triple satellite launch at last minute. For a long time the cause of these temperatures has been a mystery, but today it is believed that shock waves, caused by certain convective currents that occur in the photosphere, cause the heating of the corona and probably also of the chromosphere. Let us know. The glowing white corona can then be seen surrounding the eclipsed Sun. Almost all clouds you see up in the sky appear in the troposphere, and 99% of the water that vaporizes from the surface is found here. The International Space Station orbits in the middle of the thermosphere, between 330 and 435 km. Layers of the Atmosphere | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Not all scientists agree where the actual upper boundary of the atmosphere is, but they can agree that the bulk of the atmosphere is located close to Earths surfaceup to a distance of around eight to 15 kilometers (five to nine miles). Temperatures decrease in the mesosphere with altitude. Here, temperatures again begin to fall.The mesosphere has the coldest temperatures in the atmosphere, dipping as low as -120 degrees Celsius (-184 degrees Fahrenheit or 153 kelvin). The temperature in the corona is 500,000 K (900,000 degrees F, 500,000 degrees C) or more, up to a few million K. The bottom of the thermosphere is the mesopause - the transition into the mesosphere. The photosphere is the lowest layer of the sun's atmosphere the innermost layer we can observe directly. When you reach out to him or her, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource. Thats why AM radio stations can extend their range by hundreds of kilometers every night.The ionosphere also reflects particles from solar wind, the stream of highly charged particles ejected by the sun. "The explosions are called nanoflares because they have one-billionth the energy of a regular flare," Jim Klimchuk, a solar scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (opens in new tab) in Maryland, said in a statement. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. The average pressure of the photosphere is only a few hundredths of the atmospheric pressure at sea level. Layers of The Atmosphere - Structure of Earth's Atmosphere The lithosphere is the solid, outer part of Earth, including the brittle upper portion of the mantle and the crust. The exosphere is the outermost layer of Earth's atmosphere, which separates the atmosphere from outer space. Nitrogen and oxygen account for 99 percent of the gases in dry air, with argon, carbon dioxide, helium, neon, and other gases making up minute portions. The troposphere contains more than 80% mass of the earth's atmosphere. In the photosphere, the temperature is between 7,500 kelvin and 4,700 kelvin, in the outermost part of the layer. The corona is the outermost region of the total of the Sun's layers. These electrical displays create auroras (light displays) called the Northern and Southern Lights.ThermosphereThe thermosphere is the thickest layer in the atmosphere. Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. Later, more complex forms of plant life added more oxygen to the atmosphere. The temperature of the photosphere ranges from 11,000 degrees Fahrenheit (6,125 degrees Celsius) at the bottom to 7,460 F (4,125 C) at the top. It's in these outer layers that the sun's energy, which has bubbled up from the sun's interior layers over the course of a million years, is detected as sunlight, according to University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR (opens in new tab)). exosphere, the outermost layer. The temperature of the photosphere ranges from 11,000 degrees Fahrenheit (6,125 degrees Celsius) at the bottom to 7,460 F (4,125 C) at the top. It takes about eight minutes for sunlight from the photosphere to reach Earth. Unlike the troposphere, the stratosphere actually gets warmer the higher you go! In fact, the coldest temperatures in the atmosphere are near the top of the mesosphereabout -90C (-130F). If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. It acts as a protective barrier between outer space and the biosphere, protecting both from harm. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Find tips on how to safely view an eclipse here. This ozone absorbs some of the incoming solar radiation, shielding life on Earth from potentially harmful ultraviolet (UV) light, and is responsible for the temperature increase in altitude. As the gases cool, they become the solar wind. What is the outermost layer of the atmosphere? - Answers The air in this layer is absolutely not friendly for us, as it would be impossible to breathe in the mesosphere because of too low oxygen levels. It's where weather happens and contains the air humans breathe. At the bottom of the exosphere is a transition layer called the thermopause. Tectonic activity describes the interaction of the huge slabs of lithosphere calledtectonic plates. Analogously to the chromosphere, it is also not possible to see it outside of total eclipses, because the powerful luminosity of the neighboring photosphere masks the presence.