Meteorological phenomena in thermosphere11/11/2023 ![]() Odd electrical discharges akin to lightning, called "sprites" and "ELVES", occasionally appear in the mesosphere dozens of kilometers (miles) above thunderclouds in the troposphere below. The mesosphere, like the stratosphere below it, is much drier than the moist troposphere we live in making the formation of clouds in this layer a bit of a surprise. These peculiar clouds form much, much higher up than other types of clouds. Very strange, high-altitude clouds called " noctilucent clouds" or "polar mesospheric clouds" sometimes form in the mesosphere near the poles. Some material from meteors lingers in the mesosphere, causing this layer to have a relatively high concentration of iron and other metal atoms. Since it is difficult to take measurements of the mesosphere directly using instruments, much about the mesosphere is still mysterious. Scientists use instruments on sounding rockets to sample the mesosphere directly, but such flights are brief and infrequent. Satellites orbit above the mesosphere and cannot directly measure the traits of this layer. Weather balloons and other aircraft cannot fly high enough to reach the mesosphere. The mesosphere is difficult to study, so less is known about this layer of the atmosphere than other layers. This diagram shows some of the features of the mesosphere. At the bottom of the mesosphere is the stratopause, the boundary between the mesosphere and the stratosphere. The boundary between the mesosphere and the thermosphere is called the mesopause. The coldest temperatures in Earth's atmosphere, about -90° C (-130° F), are found near the top of this layer. Temperature decreases with height throughout the mesosphere. It extends from about 50 to 85 km (31 to 53 miles) above our planet. The mesosphere is directly above the stratosphere and below the thermosphere. The mesosphere is a layer of Earth's atmosphere.
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