The exosphere is the name of the outermost layer of the Earth's atmosphere from the surface, being the one that precedes outer space.
It is located above the thermosphere right after the intermediate layer called the thermopause.
Features
The exosphere is about a thousand kilometers high from the Earth's surface.
However, the distance can vary according to the Sun's activity cycle, causing the exosphere to reach about 500 kilometers in altitude.
Some scientists don't consider the exosphere as a layer of the atmosphere. Thus, it can also be considered as part of the thermosphere or a part of outer space.
Considering this distance from the exosphere in relation to the Earth's surface, it receives more influence from the force of the Sun's pressure than from Earth's gravity.
The exosphere is extremely rarefied which makes collisions between the molecules present rare.
The gases found in the exosphere are helium and hydrogen. There we find no air to breathe and the temperature can reach up to 1000 °C.
The exosphere is a region far away from Earth, that's where artificial satellites orbit.
Atmosphere layers
In addition to the troposphere, the Earth's atmosphere is also formed by other layers:
Troposphere: The lowest layer of the Earth's atmosphere, being the region in which we live and where meteorological phenomena occur.
Stratosphere: Layer that appears right after the transition layer with the troposphere, the tropopause. Where is the ozone layer.
mesosphere: Layer that appears after the stratosphere, about 85 kilometers long.
thermosphere: Largest layer of the Earth's atmosphere and extends up to 600 kilometers in altitude
Ionosphere: Upper layer of the thermosphere and remains charged with electrons and atoms ionized by solar radiation.
Want to know more about Earth's atmosphere? read:
- Atmosphere of the Planets
- What is Atmosphere?
- Atmosphere layers
- Earth Structure
