Travel upward through the protective layers surrounding Earth.
Explore Earth's atmosphere, including the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere, and atmospheric boundaries.
The troposphere contains most atmospheric mass and nearly all weather.
Learn MoreThe stratosphere contains the ozone layer, which absorbs much of the Sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation.
Learn MoreMost meteors burn up in the mesosphere as collisions with air particles heat them.
Learn MoreSparse gases in the thermosphere absorb energetic solar radiation and can reach very high temperatures.
Learn MoreThe exosphere is the outermost region, where particles are so far apart that some escape into space.
Learn MorePauses between layers mark changes in temperature trend.
Learn MoreThe troposphere contains most atmospheric mass and nearly all weather. Temperature generally decreases with height because the surface warms the air from below.
The stratosphere contains the ozone layer, which absorbs much of the Sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation. Temperature rises with height as ozone captures solar energy.
Most meteors burn up in the mesosphere as collisions with air particles heat them. It is the coldest major atmospheric layer near its upper boundary.
Sparse gases in the thermosphere absorb energetic solar radiation and can reach very high temperatures. Auroras glow here when charged solar particles excite atmospheric gases.
The exosphere is the outermost region, where particles are so far apart that some escape into space. It gradually blends into interplanetary space rather than ending at a sharp edge.
Pauses between layers mark changes in temperature trend. The tropopause caps most weather, while the stratopause, mesopause, and thermopause separate higher regions.