Turns out, Earth’s atmosphere is layered
The atmosphere is an upper layer of gas that surrounds a planet. Keep in mind that the layers of the atmosphere of each planet are different. Especially for planet Earth, launching the National Geographic page, its atmosphere is composed of 78% nitrogen gas, 21% oxygen gas, and 0.9% other gases.
Not only that, in fact, Earth’s atmosphere is not a single entity, but is composed of several layers. Approximately, there are any layers, huh? If you’re curious, let’s explore in the following section!
1. The troposphere
Being the layer closest to the Earth’s surface, the troposphere is the layer that provides air for us to breathe and is where we see clouds. In this layer also, climate and weather changes occur, such as storms, rains, typhoons, which are always changing—”tropos” means changing.
The troposphere has an average height of 12 km. However, this height will be different according to the place. In addition, the thermometric gradient law applies where the air temperature will be colder if the altitude is higher, and vice versa.
2. Stratosphere layer
“Strat” means layers and in fact, the stratosphere itself is also layered: there is an isotherm layer, a hot layer, and a top mixed layer. Having an altitude ranging from 12-80 km, the stratosphere is where ozone is located.
In addition, the air in this layer is relatively dry, so clouds are rarely found. As we get higher and higher, the temperature gets even hotter—because of the ozone layer in the stratosphere that absorbs heat from the Sun’s UV rays.
3. Layer mesosphereunsplash.com/Vincentiu Solomon
The mesosphere is located between the thermosphere (above) and the stratosphere (below). The researchers say that little is known about the mesosphere. The reason is that hot air balloons are no longer able to reach this layer to study its characteristics.
But for sure, the air will become thinner so that we will no longer be able to breathe in this layer. However, the mesosphere is there to protect us from meteors that fall from space. Thanks to this layer we can witness the phenomenon of shooting stars.
4. Thermosphere layer
Moving from the mesosphere layer, we will find the thermosphere layer whose temperature is very hot, which is around 1700°C. This is due to the absorption of UV and X rays of the sun. However, we will not feel heat because there are not enough gas molecules to conduct heat to our bodies.
The International Space Station (ISS) also orbits in the thermosphere. In addition, if you are familiar with the aurora, then it is in this layer that this beautiful and colorful light is formed.
5. Exosphere layer
Although it is still debated whether this layer is included in the layers that make up the Earth’s atmosphere, but what is clear is that the exosphere layer separates Earth from outer space. Located at an altitude of 400-1000 km above sea level, this layer is very thick, which has a thickness of about 10,000 km.
In addition, the force of gravity is very small in this layer. In addition, the temperature was extremely cold and there was hardly any air to breathe. Even though the air is thin, there is still a pulling force generated to attract the satellites orbiting the Earth.
That was information about the five layers of the atmosphere that surround our Earth. Hopefully it can increase your knowledge about Earth’s atmosphere, yes!
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