MESOSPHERE Located within 50-80 km. from earth surface. The term literally means middle area. The temperature in this layer is decreasing. This is also the last layer with homogeneous air- air which is chiefly Oxygen and Nitrogen. Most meteors vaporize in the mesosphere. Some material from meteors lingers in the mesosphere, causing this layer to have a relatively high concentration of iron and other metal atoms. The boundary between the mesosphere and the next upper layer is called mesopause.THERMOSPHERE This layer is lying beyond the mesosphere, specifically within 80-100 km. from the earth surface. Air in here is heterogeneous with varying amounts of Hydrogen and Helium. The actual temperature in the Thermosphere can reach as high as 2000° C! It is so hot here because nitrogen and oxygen in the atmosphere absorb a lot of radiation from space and convert it to heat. The boundary between the thermosphere and the exosphere above it is called the thermopause. eee ed The lower Thermosphere is called the a gs lonosphere; it extends from 80 to 550 kilometers above the Earth's surface. Nitrogen, oxygen, and other particles in the lonosphere absorb radiation from the sun and become electrically charged. Electrically charged Mesosphere particles are called ions, hence the seca name: the lonosphere. These ions are important to radio because they reflect [= ‘rrr AM radio waves back to earth allowing for long distance mi| EXOSPHERE Beyond 100 km. is the start of the earth’s outermost atmospheric layer, marking the beginning of the outer space. The air particles here are hotter than the ionosphere. The temperature are very high because of the incessant bombardment f cosmic rays. Density is very low the collisions between particles are extremely rare.