We all know that space is cold... Very cold. And that the Earth is warm, it's even a rather pleasant place to live. Crazy, I know. The planet we call home though has some pretty amazing weather. From the 54 degree Celsius (130 F) Sahara to the -73 degree Celsius tundras of Russia. These temperatures may seem hard to comprehend, especially if you live in a more moderate climate, but it hails in comparison to what goes on above your head high in the atmosphere.
The Atmosphere
The skies above our head are incredibly complex and exist in many different state. One of the easiest ways to see the Earth come to life is to just feel the atmosphere.It will be hot, cold, windy, still, dry, humid, thick and thin. The atmosphere is truly incredible, and it gets even more so as you increase your altitude.
When you are at sea level the temperature is around 20 degrees Celsius (68 F). As you rise it gets colder and colder, everybody knows that. However when you reach a certain altitude an interesting phenomenon occurs. The temperature beings to rise! At about 12 km (7.5 mi) the temperature starts at about -40 degrees Celsius and by the time it reaches mesosphere at 50 km (31 mi), it is at 0 degrees Celsius (32 F). The area that we are talking about is called the stratosphere. The reason behind this is due production ozone, an essential gas that is responsible for absorbing most of the harmful UV-rays shining onto the earth. The heat produced by these reactions is enough to heat the atmosphere dramatically . You can see what is happening in the diagram bellow.
When you leave the stratosphere the temperature starts to go down a considerable amount until you reach the appropriately named thermosphere. The upper part of the region is much hotter than any other part, clocking in at as much as 2,500 degrees Celsius (4532 Fahrenheit), though it doesn't feel that hot because the atmosphere is so thin. The reason it gets this hot is because this part of the atmosphere absorbs much of the suns radiation. The temperatures here vary greatly between night and day cycles.
Conclusion
The atmosphere is an amazing and complex thing that supports all living things on earth. It should be studied further so that we can take care of it as was successfully demonstrated with the healing of the ozone layer. Without it we would quite literally be toast.
Sources:
☛ www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/atmos/layers.html
☛ sciencing.com/causes-thermosphere-hot-8394634.html
Picture Credits:
☛ www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/atmos/images/atmprofile.jpg
☛ earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/GlobalWarming/images/ISS022-E-6674.jpg
☛ www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/images/463940main_atmosphere-layers2_full.jpg