Is There One More Layer?

No, there is not another layer, but a region of the atmosphere called the ionosphere . It overlaps mostly in the thermosphere.

The ionosphere is an electrified region where radio waves are reflected. In addition, the sun sends out charged particles that are deflected to the North and South Poles. This interaction is what creates brilliant displays of colored lights near the pol es. The lights are called auroras and can appear red, blue, green or white.


Click on image for full size version (16K GIF)
Photo courtesy of Jyrki Manninen

Is There One More Layer?

No, there is not another layer, but a region of the atmosphere called the ionosphere . It overlaps mostly in the thermosphere.

The ionosphere is an electrified region where radio waves are reflected. In addition, the sun sends out charged particles that are deflected to the North and South Poles. This interaction is what creates brilliant displays of colored lights near the pol es. The lights are called auroras and can appear red, blue, green or white.


Click on image for full size version (16K GIF)
Photo courtesy of Jyrki Manninen
IMAGEMAP

The Ionosphere

There is actually another region of the atmosphere, but not another layer called the ionosphere . This region mainly overlaps in the thermosphere. In the ionosphere, ions are formed when oxygen atoms lose electrons from the sun's ultrav iolet rays.

The ionosphere is an electrified region where radio waves are reflected. It keeps the waves from reflecting back into space so we can receive good reception in our radios.

In addition, the ionosphere is affected by solar eruptions. The sun sends out electrically charged particles that are deflected to the North and South Poles. This interaction is what causes colored displays of light in the nighttime sky near the poles, called auroras. They can appear green, red, blue or white.


Click on image for full size version (16K GIF)
Photograph courtesy of Jyrki Manninen

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