The structure of the Earth's atmosphere: Thermosphere
Thermosphere
The thermosphere is located above the
mesosphere and is separated from it
by the mesopause transition layer. The temperature
in the thermosphere generally increases with altitude up to 1000-1500 K.
This increase in temperature is due to the absorption of
intense
solar radiation by the limited amount of remaining molecular oxygen. At an altitude of
100-200 km, the major atmospheric components are still nitrogen and
oxygen. At this extreme altitude gas molecules are widely separated.
It is within the thermosphere that the aurora phenomena may be observed.
