At first, the temperature gets warmer very quickly as you go upward in the thermosphere. After that, the temperature doesn't change much as you go higher. However, the hottest temperature changes between day and night. It also depends on whether the Sun is active (solar max) or not (solar min).
Click on image for full size
Images courtesy of The COMET Program and HAO at NCAR (modified by Windows to the Universe staff).
Temperature in the Thermosphere
At first, the temperature gets warmer very quickly as you go upward in the thermosphere. After that, the temperature doesn't change much as you go higher. However, the hottest temperature changes between day and night. It also depends on how active the Sun is during its 11-year sunspot cycle. The thermosphere is hottest when the Sun is very active during "solar max". It isn't quite so hot when the Sun is less active during "solar min".
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
Cool It! is the new card game from the Union of Concerned Scientists that teaches kids about the choices we have when it comes to climate change—and how policy and technology decisions made today will matter. Cool It! is available in our
online store.
You might also be interested in:
The thermosphere is the fourth layer of the Earth's atmosphere. It is found above the mesosphere. The air is really thin that high up. The temperature changes with the solar activity. If the sun is active,
...more
Rainbows appear in the sky when there is bright sunlight and rain. Sunlight is known as visible or white light and is actually a mixture of colors. The sun's rays pass through millions of raindrops. A
...more
It takes the Earth one year to travel around the sun one time. During this year, there are four seasons: summer, autumn, winter, and spring. Each season depends on the amount of sunlight reaching the
...more
Scientists sometimes travel in airplanes that carry weather instruments in order to gather data about the atmosphere. These research aircraft bring air from the outside into the plane so scientists can
...more
An anemometer is a weather instrument used to measure the wind (it can also be called a wind gauge). These instruments can be used in a backyard weather station or on a well-equipped scientific research
...more
Thermometers measure temperature. "Thermo" means heat and "meter" means to measure. You can use a thermometer to measure the temperature of many things, including the temperature of
...more
Weather balloons are used to carry weather instruments that measure temperature, pressure, humidity, and winds in the atmosphere. The information collected from the instruments on weather balloons are
...more
