CINXE.COM

<!doctype html> <html lang="en-US" class="no-js" itemtype="https://schema.org/Blog" itemscope> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, minimum-scale=1"> <meta name='robots' content='index, follow, max-image-preview:large, max-snippet:-1, max-video-preview:-1'/> <title>What Is the Mesosphere? - Earth How</title> <meta name="description" content="Highlights of the mesosphere include: (1) Air is very thin (2) It's the coldest region of the atmosphere close to -100°C and (3) It's where meteors burn up."/> <link rel="canonical" href="https://earthhow.com/mesosphere/"/> <meta property="og:locale" content="en_US"/> <meta property="og:type" content="article"/> <meta property="og:title" content="What Is the Mesosphere? - Earth How"/> <meta property="og:description" content="Highlights of the mesosphere include: (1) Air is very thin (2) It's the coldest region of the atmosphere close to -100°C and (3) It's where meteors burn up."/> <meta property="og:url" content="https://earthhow.com/mesosphere/"/> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Earth How"/> <meta property="article:published_time" content="2017-05-08T20:01:18+00:00"/> <meta property="article:modified_time" content="2023-09-23T11:41:29+00:00"/> <meta property="og:image" content="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Mesosphere-Feature.png"/> <meta property="og:image:width" content="678"/> <meta property="og:image:height" content="509"/> <meta property="og:image:type" content="image/png"/> <meta name="author" content="earthhow"/> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"/> <meta name="twitter:creator" content="@earth_how"/> <meta name="twitter:site" content="@earth_how"/> <meta name="twitter:label1" content="Written by"/> <meta name="twitter:data1" content="earthhow"/> <meta name="twitter:label2" content="Est. reading time"/> <meta name="twitter:data2" content="3 minutes"/> <script type="application/ld+json" class="yoast-schema-graph">{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https://earthhow.com/mesosphere/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://earthhow.com/mesosphere/"},"author":{"name":"earthhow","@id":"https://earthhow.com/#/schema/person/4b59317e5d3ba21e675de70a79725fe3"},"headline":"What Is the Mesosphere?","datePublished":"2017-05-08T20:01:18+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-23T11:41:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https://earthhow.com/mesosphere/"},"wordCount":453,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https://earthhow.com/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https://earthhow.com/mesosphere/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Mesosphere-Feature.png","articleSection":["Atmosphere","Outside Earth"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https://earthhow.com/mesosphere/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://earthhow.com/mesosphere/","url":"https://earthhow.com/mesosphere/","name":"What Is the Mesosphere? - Earth How","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://earthhow.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://earthhow.com/mesosphere/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https://earthhow.com/mesosphere/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Mesosphere-Feature.png","datePublished":"2017-05-08T20:01:18+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-23T11:41:29+00:00","description":"Highlights of the mesosphere include: (1) Air is very thin (2) It's the coldest region of the atmosphere close to -100°C and (3) It's where meteors burn up.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://earthhow.com/mesosphere/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://earthhow.com/mesosphere/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https://earthhow.com/mesosphere/#primaryimage","url":"https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Mesosphere-Feature.png","contentUrl":"https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Mesosphere-Feature.png","width":678,"height":509,"caption":"Mesosphere"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://earthhow.com/mesosphere/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://earthhow.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Atmosphere","item":"https://earthhow.com/category/atmosphere/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Outside Earth","item":"https://earthhow.com/category/atmosphere/outside-earth/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"What Is the Mesosphere?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://earthhow.com/#website","url":"https://earthhow.com/","name":"Earth How","description":"Earth Explained","publisher":{"@id":"https://earthhow.com/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://earthhow.com/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://earthhow.com/#organization","name":"Earth How","url":"https://earthhow.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https://earthhow.com/#/schema/logo/image/","url":"https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EarthHowLogo.png","contentUrl":"https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EarthHowLogo.png","width":460,"height":80,"caption":"Earth How"},"image":{"@id":"https://earthhow.com/#/schema/logo/image/"},"sameAs":["https://x.com/earth_how"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https://earthhow.com/#/schema/person/4b59317e5d3ba21e675de70a79725fe3","name":"earthhow"}]}</script> <link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//scripts.mediavine.com'/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Earth How » Feed" href="https://earthhow.com/feed/"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Earth How » Comments Feed" href="https://earthhow.com/comments/feed/"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Earth How » What Is the Mesosphere? Comments Feed" href="https://earthhow.com/mesosphere/feed/"/> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="//earthhow.com/wp-content/cache/wpfc-minified/7ws98yux/445gh.css" media="all"/> <style id='classic-theme-styles-inline-css'>.wp-block-button__link{color:#fff;background-color:#32373c;border-radius:9999px;box-shadow:none;text-decoration:none;padding:calc(.667em + 2px) calc(1.333em + 2px);font-size:1.125em}.wp-block-file__button{background:#32373c;color:#fff;text-decoration:none}</style> <style id='global-styles-inline-css'>:root{--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--square:1;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--4-3:4/3;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--3-4:3/4;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--3-2:3/2;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--2-3:2/3;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--16-9:16/9;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--9-16:9/16;--wp--preset--color--black:#000000;--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray:#abb8c3;--wp--preset--color--white:#ffffff;--wp--preset--color--pale-pink:#f78da7;--wp--preset--color--vivid-red:#cf2e2e;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange:#ff6900;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber:#fcb900;--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan:#7bdcb5;--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan:#00d084;--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue:#8ed1fc;--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue:#0693e3;--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple:#9b51e0;--wp--preset--color--theme-palette-1:var(--global-palette1);--wp--preset--color--theme-palette-2:var(--global-palette2);--wp--preset--color--theme-palette-3:var(--global-palette3);--wp--preset--color--theme-palette-4:var(--global-palette4);--wp--preset--color--theme-palette-5:var(--global-palette5);--wp--preset--color--theme-palette-6:var(--global-palette6);--wp--preset--color--theme-palette-7:var(--global-palette7);--wp--preset--color--theme-palette-8:var(--global-palette8);--wp--preset--color--theme-palette-9:var(--global-palette9);--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple:linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(6,147,227,1) 0%,rgb(155,81,224) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan:linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(122,220,180) 0%,rgb(0,208,130) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange:linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(252,185,0,1) 0%,rgba(255,105,0,1) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red:linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(255,105,0,1) 0%,rgb(207,46,46) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray:linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(238,238,238) 0%,rgb(169,184,195) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum:linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(74,234,220) 0%,rgb(151,120,209) 20%,rgb(207,42,186) 40%,rgb(238,44,130) 60%,rgb(251,105,98) 80%,rgb(254,248,76) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple:linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,206,236) 0%,rgb(152,150,240) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux:linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(254,205,165) 0%,rgb(254,45,45) 50%,rgb(107,0,62) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk:linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,203,112) 0%,rgb(199,81,192) 50%,rgb(65,88,208) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean:linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,245,203) 0%,rgb(182,227,212) 50%,rgb(51,167,181) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass:linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(202,248,128) 0%,rgb(113,206,126) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--midnight:linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(2,3,129) 0%,rgb(40,116,252) 100%);--wp--preset--font-size--small:var(--global-font-size-small);--wp--preset--font-size--medium:var(--global-font-size-medium);--wp--preset--font-size--large:var(--global-font-size-large);--wp--preset--font-size--x-large:42px;--wp--preset--font-size--larger:var(--global-font-size-larger);--wp--preset--font-size--xxlarge:var(--global-font-size-xxlarge);--wp--preset--spacing--20:0.44rem;--wp--preset--spacing--30:0.67rem;--wp--preset--spacing--40:1rem;--wp--preset--spacing--50:1.5rem;--wp--preset--spacing--60:2.25rem;--wp--preset--spacing--70:3.38rem;--wp--preset--spacing--80:5.06rem;--wp--preset--shadow--natural:6px 6px 9px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);--wp--preset--shadow--deep:12px 12px 50px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);--wp--preset--shadow--sharp:6px 6px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);--wp--preset--shadow--outlined:6px 6px 0px -3px rgba(255, 255, 255, 1), 6px 6px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);--wp--preset--shadow--crisp:6px 6px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);}:where(.is-layout-flex){gap:0.5em;}:where(.is-layout-grid){gap:0.5em;}body .is-layout-flex{display:flex;}.is-layout-flex{flex-wrap:wrap;align-items:center;}.is-layout-flex > :is(*, div){margin:0;}body .is-layout-grid{display:grid;}.is-layout-grid > :is(*, div){margin:0;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap:2em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-grid){gap:2em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-flex){gap:1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-grid){gap:1.25em;}.has-black-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red) !important;}.has-very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-cool-to-warm-spectrum-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum) !important;}.has-blush-light-purple-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple) !important;}.has-blush-bordeaux-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux) !important;}.has-luminous-dusk-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk) !important;}.has-pale-ocean-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean) !important;}.has-electric-grass-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass) !important;}.has-midnight-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--midnight) !important;}.has-small-font-size{font-size:var(--wp--preset--font-size--small) !important;}.has-medium-font-size{font-size:var(--wp--preset--font-size--medium) !important;}.has-large-font-size{font-size:var(--wp--preset--font-size--large) !important;}.has-x-large-font-size{font-size:var(--wp--preset--font-size--x-large) !important;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-flex){gap:1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-grid){gap:1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap:2em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-grid){gap:2em;}:root :where(.wp-block-pullquote){font-size:1.5em;line-height:1.6;}</style> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="//earthhow.com/wp-content/cache/wpfc-minified/9icsh380/445g5.css" media="all"/> <style id='kadence-global-inline-css'>:root{--global-palette1:#2a7fb8;--global-palette2:#206ca2;--global-palette3:#232323;--global-palette4:#000000;--global-palette5:#000000;--global-palette6:#515151;--global-palette7:#ffffff;--global-palette8:#ffffff;--global-palette9:#ffffff;--global-palette9rgb:255, 255, 255;--global-palette-highlight:var(--global-palette1);--global-palette-highlight-alt:#0f5583;--global-palette-highlight-alt2:var(--global-palette9);--global-palette-btn-bg:var(--global-palette1);--global-palette-btn-bg-hover:var(--global-palette2);--global-palette-btn:var(--global-palette9);--global-palette-btn-hover:var(--global-palette9);--global-body-font-family:Inter, sans-serif;--global-heading-font-family:inherit;--global-primary-nav-font-family:inherit;--global-fallback-font:sans-serif;--global-display-fallback-font:sans-serif;--global-content-width:1200px;--global-content-narrow-width:850px;--global-content-edge-padding:1.5rem;--global-content-boxed-padding:2rem;--global-calc-content-width:calc(1200px - var(--global-content-edge-padding) - var(--global-content-edge-padding) );--wp--style--global--content-size:var(--global-calc-content-width);}.wp-site-blocks{--global-vw:calc( 100vw - ( 0.5 * var(--scrollbar-offset)));}body{background:#f7fafc;}body, input, select, optgroup, textarea{font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:18px;line-height:1.6;font-family:var(--global-body-font-family);color:var(--global-palette4);}.content-bg, body.content-style-unboxed .site{background:var(--global-palette9);}h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6{font-family:var(--global-heading-font-family);}h1{font-style:normal;font-weight:800;font-size:28px;line-height:1.5;color:var(--global-palette3);}h2{font-style:normal;font-weight:800;font-size:28px;line-height:1.5;color:var(--global-palette3);}h3{font-style:normal;font-weight:800;font-size:26px;line-height:1.5;color:var(--global-palette3);}h4{font-style:normal;font-weight:700;font-size:24px;line-height:1.5;color:var(--global-palette4);}h5{font-style:normal;font-weight:700;font-size:22px;line-height:1.5;color:var(--global-palette4);}h6{font-style:normal;font-weight:700;font-size:20px;line-height:1.5;color:var(--global-palette5);}.entry-hero h1{font-style:normal;font-weight:800;color:#ffffff;}.entry-hero .kadence-breadcrumbs, .entry-hero .search-form{font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;color:var(--global-palette3);}.entry-hero .kadence-breadcrumbs{max-width:1200px;}.site-container, .site-header-row-layout-contained, .site-footer-row-layout-contained, .entry-hero-layout-contained, .comments-area, .alignfull > .wp-block-cover__inner-container, .alignwide > .wp-block-cover__inner-container{max-width:var(--global-content-width);}.content-width-narrow .content-container.site-container, .content-width-narrow .hero-container.site-container{max-width:var(--global-content-narrow-width);}@media all and (min-width: 1430px){.wp-site-blocks .content-container .alignwide{margin-left:-115px;margin-right:-115px;width:unset;max-width:unset;}}@media all and (min-width: 1110px){.content-width-narrow .wp-site-blocks .content-container .alignwide{margin-left:-130px;margin-right:-130px;width:unset;max-width:unset;}}.content-style-boxed .wp-site-blocks .entry-content .alignwide{margin-left:calc( -1 * var( --global-content-boxed-padding ) );margin-right:calc( -1 * var( --global-content-boxed-padding ) );}.content-area{margin-top:2rem;margin-bottom:2rem;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.content-area{margin-top:3rem;margin-bottom:3rem;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.content-area{margin-top:2rem;margin-bottom:2rem;}}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){:root{--global-content-boxed-padding:2.5rem;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){:root{--global-content-boxed-padding:1.5rem;}}.entry-content-wrap{padding:2rem;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.entry-content-wrap{padding:2.5rem;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.entry-content-wrap{padding:1.5rem;}}.entry.single-entry{box-shadow:0px 15px 15px -10px rgba(0,0,0,0.05);border-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;}.entry.loop-entry{box-shadow:0px 15px 15px -10px rgba(0,0,0,0);}.loop-entry .entry-content-wrap{padding:2rem;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.loop-entry .entry-content-wrap{padding:2rem;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.loop-entry .entry-content-wrap{padding:1.5rem;}}.has-sidebar:not(.has-left-sidebar) .content-container{grid-template-columns:1fr 300px;}.has-sidebar.has-left-sidebar .content-container{grid-template-columns:300px 1fr;}.primary-sidebar.widget-area .widget{margin-bottom:1.5em;color:var(--global-palette4);}.primary-sidebar.widget-area .widget-title{font-weight:700;font-size:20px;line-height:1.5;color:var(--global-palette3);}button, .button, .wp-block-button__link, input[type="button"], input[type="reset"], input[type="submit"], .fl-button, .elementor-button-wrapper .elementor-button, .wc-block-components-checkout-place-order-button, .wc-block-cart__submit{border-radius:25px;box-shadow:inset 0px 0px 0px -7px rgba(0,0,0,0);}button:hover, button:focus, button:active, .button:hover, .button:focus, .button:active, .wp-block-button__link:hover, .wp-block-button__link:focus, .wp-block-button__link:active, input[type="button"]:hover, input[type="button"]:focus, input[type="button"]:active, input[type="reset"]:hover, input[type="reset"]:focus, input[type="reset"]:active, input[type="submit"]:hover, input[type="submit"]:focus, input[type="submit"]:active, .elementor-button-wrapper .elementor-button:hover, .elementor-button-wrapper .elementor-button:focus, .elementor-button-wrapper .elementor-button:active, .wc-block-cart__submit:hover{box-shadow:0px 15px 25px -7px rgba(0,0,0,0.1);}.kb-button.kb-btn-global-outline.kb-btn-global-inherit{padding-top:calc(px - 2px);padding-right:calc(px - 2px);padding-bottom:calc(px - 2px);padding-left:calc(px - 2px);}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){button, .button, .wp-block-button__link, input[type="button"], input[type="reset"], input[type="submit"], .fl-button, .elementor-button-wrapper .elementor-button, .wc-block-components-checkout-place-order-button, .wc-block-cart__submit{border-radius:25px;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){button, .button, .wp-block-button__link, input[type="button"], input[type="reset"], input[type="submit"], .fl-button, .elementor-button-wrapper .elementor-button, .wc-block-components-checkout-place-order-button, .wc-block-cart__submit{border-radius:25px;}}@media all and (min-width: 1025px){.transparent-header .entry-hero .entry-hero-container-inner{padding-top:70px;}}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.mobile-transparent-header .entry-hero .entry-hero-container-inner{padding-top:70px;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.mobile-transparent-header .entry-hero .entry-hero-container-inner{padding-top:70px;}}.entry-author-style-center{padding-top:var(--global-md-spacing);border-top:1px solid var(--global-gray-500);}.entry-author-style-center .entry-author-avatar, .entry-meta .author-avatar{display:none;}.entry-author-style-normal .entry-author-profile{padding-left:0px;}#comments .comment-meta{margin-left:0px;}body.single .entry-related{background:#f7f7f7;}.wp-site-blocks .entry-related h2.entry-related-title{font-style:normal;color:var(--global-palette3);}.wp-site-blocks .post-title h1{font-style:normal;font-size:36px;color:var(--global-palette3);}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.wp-site-blocks .post-title h1{font-size:38px;line-height:1.4;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.wp-site-blocks .post-title h1{font-size:34px;}}.post-title .entry-taxonomies, .post-title .entry-taxonomies a{color:var(--global-palette1);}.post-title .entry-taxonomies a:hover{color:var(--global-palette2);}.post-title .entry-taxonomies .category-style-pill a{background:var(--global-palette1);}.post-title .entry-taxonomies .category-style-pill a:hover{background:var(--global-palette2);}.post-title .entry-meta{color:var(--global-palette3);}.post-title .entry-meta a:hover{color:var(--global-palette3);}.post-title .kadence-breadcrumbs{font-style:normal;font-size:14px;color:var(--global-palette3);}.post-title .kadence-breadcrumbs a:hover{color:var(--global-palette4);}.entry-hero.post-hero-section .entry-header{min-height:200px;}.post-hero-section .hero-section-overlay{background:var(--global-palette9);}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.entry-hero.post-hero-section .entry-header{min-height:300px;}}.loop-entry.type-post h2.entry-title{font-style:normal;font-size:22px;color:var(--global-palette4);} @media all and (max-width: 1024px){.mobile-transparent-header #masthead{position:absolute;left:0px;right:0px;z-index:100;}.kadence-scrollbar-fixer.mobile-transparent-header #masthead{right:var(--scrollbar-offset,0);}.mobile-transparent-header #masthead, .mobile-transparent-header .site-top-header-wrap .site-header-row-container-inner, .mobile-transparent-header .site-main-header-wrap .site-header-row-container-inner, .mobile-transparent-header .site-bottom-header-wrap .site-header-row-container-inner{background:transparent;}.site-header-row-tablet-layout-fullwidth, .site-header-row-tablet-layout-standard{padding:0px;}}@media all and (min-width: 1025px){.transparent-header #masthead{position:absolute;left:0px;right:0px;z-index:100;}.transparent-header.kadence-scrollbar-fixer #masthead{right:var(--scrollbar-offset,0);}.transparent-header #masthead, .transparent-header .site-top-header-wrap .site-header-row-container-inner, .transparent-header .site-main-header-wrap .site-header-row-container-inner, .transparent-header .site-bottom-header-wrap .site-header-row-container-inner{background:transparent;}}.site-branding a.brand img{max-width:220px;}.site-branding a.brand img.svg-logo-image{width:220px;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.site-branding a.brand img{max-width:220px;}.site-branding a.brand img.svg-logo-image{width:220px;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.site-branding a.brand img{max-width:215px;}.site-branding a.brand img.svg-logo-image{width:215px;}}.site-branding{padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.site-branding .site-title{font-size:24px;letter-spacing:-0.05em;}}#masthead, #masthead .kadence-sticky-header.item-is-fixed:not(.item-at-start):not(.site-header-row-container):not(.site-main-header-wrap), #masthead .kadence-sticky-header.item-is-fixed:not(.item-at-start) > .site-header-row-container-inner{background:#ffffff;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){#masthead, #masthead .kadence-sticky-header.item-is-fixed:not(.item-at-start):not(.site-header-row-container):not(.site-main-header-wrap), #masthead .kadence-sticky-header.item-is-fixed:not(.item-at-start) > .site-header-row-container-inner{background:#ffffff;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){#masthead, #masthead .kadence-sticky-header.item-is-fixed:not(.item-at-start):not(.site-header-row-container):not(.site-main-header-wrap), #masthead .kadence-sticky-header.item-is-fixed:not(.item-at-start) > .site-header-row-container-inner{background:#ffffff;}}.site-main-header-wrap .site-header-row-container-inner{background:var(--global-palette9);border-top:0px none transparent;border-bottom:1px solid #b9b9b9;}.site-main-header-inner-wrap{min-height:70px;}.header-navigation[class*="header-navigation-style-underline"] .header-menu-container.primary-menu-container>ul>li>a:after{width:calc( 100% - 1.5em);}.main-navigation .primary-menu-container > ul > li.menu-item > a{padding-left:calc(1.5em / 2);padding-right:calc(1.5em / 2);padding-top:0.6em;padding-bottom:0.6em;color:var(--global-palette3);}.main-navigation .primary-menu-container > ul > li.menu-item .dropdown-nav-special-toggle{right:calc(1.5em / 2);}.main-navigation .primary-menu-container > ul li.menu-item > a{font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:18px;}.main-navigation .primary-menu-container > ul > li.menu-item > a:hover{color:var(--global-palette4);}.main-navigation .primary-menu-container > ul > li.menu-item.current-menu-item > a{color:var(--global-palette4);}.header-navigation .header-menu-container ul ul.sub-menu, .header-navigation .header-menu-container ul ul.submenu{background:#ffffff;box-shadow:0px 2px 13px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0.1);}.header-navigation .header-menu-container ul ul li.menu-item, .header-menu-container ul.menu > li.kadence-menu-mega-enabled > ul > li.menu-item > a{border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.1);}.header-navigation .header-menu-container ul ul li.menu-item > a{width:200px;padding-top:1em;padding-bottom:1em;color:var(--global-palette3);font-style:normal;font-size:16px;}.header-navigation .header-menu-container ul ul li.menu-item > a:hover{color:#ffffff;background:var(--global-palette1);}.header-navigation .header-menu-container ul ul li.menu-item.current-menu-item > a{color:var(--global-palette9);background:var(--global-palette1);}.mobile-toggle-open-container .menu-toggle-open, .mobile-toggle-open-container .menu-toggle-open:focus{color:var(--global-palette3);padding:0.5em 0.6em 0.5em 0.6em;font-size:14px;}.mobile-toggle-open-container .menu-toggle-open.menu-toggle-style-bordered{border:1px solid currentColor;}.mobile-toggle-open-container .menu-toggle-open .menu-toggle-icon{font-size:18px;}.mobile-toggle-open-container .menu-toggle-open:hover, .mobile-toggle-open-container .menu-toggle-open:focus-visible{color:var(--global-palette3);}.mobile-navigation ul li{font-size:14px;}.mobile-navigation ul li a{padding-top:0.5em;padding-bottom:0.5em;}.mobile-navigation ul li > a, .mobile-navigation ul li.menu-item-has-children > .drawer-nav-drop-wrap{color:var(--global-palette8);}.mobile-navigation ul li > a:hover, .mobile-navigation ul li.menu-item-has-children > .drawer-nav-drop-wrap:hover{color:var(--global-palette9);}.mobile-navigation ul li.current-menu-item > a, .mobile-navigation ul li.current-menu-item.menu-item-has-children > .drawer-nav-drop-wrap{color:#e8e8e8;}.mobile-navigation ul li.menu-item-has-children .drawer-nav-drop-wrap, .mobile-navigation ul li:not(.menu-item-has-children) a{border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.1);}.mobile-navigation:not(.drawer-navigation-parent-toggle-true) ul li.menu-item-has-children .drawer-nav-drop-wrap button{border-left:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.1);}#mobile-drawer .drawer-inner, #mobile-drawer.popup-drawer-layout-fullwidth.popup-drawer-animation-slice .pop-portion-bg, #mobile-drawer.popup-drawer-layout-fullwidth.popup-drawer-animation-slice.pop-animated.show-drawer .drawer-inner{background:var(--global-palette3);}#mobile-drawer .drawer-header .drawer-toggle{padding:0.6em 0.15em 0.6em 0.15em;font-size:24px;}#mobile-drawer .drawer-header .drawer-toggle, #mobile-drawer .drawer-header .drawer-toggle:focus{color:var(--global-palette9);}#mobile-drawer .drawer-header .drawer-toggle:hover, #mobile-drawer .drawer-header .drawer-toggle:focus:hover{color:var(--global-palette9);}.search-toggle-open-container .search-toggle-open{color:var(--global-palette3);}.search-toggle-open-container .search-toggle-open.search-toggle-style-bordered{border:1px solid currentColor;}.search-toggle-open-container .search-toggle-open .search-toggle-icon{font-size:1em;}.search-toggle-open-container .search-toggle-open:hover, .search-toggle-open-container .search-toggle-open:focus{color:var(--global-palette3);}#search-drawer .drawer-inner .drawer-content form input.search-field, #search-drawer .drawer-inner .drawer-content form .kadence-search-icon-wrap, #search-drawer .drawer-header{color:var(--global-palette9);}#search-drawer .drawer-inner{background:rgba(9, 12, 16, 0.97);} #colophon{background:var(--global-palette3);}.site-middle-footer-wrap .site-footer-row-container-inner{background:rgba(255,255,255,0);}.site-middle-footer-inner-wrap{padding-top:30px;padding-bottom:30px;grid-column-gap:30px;grid-row-gap:30px;}.site-middle-footer-inner-wrap .widget{margin-bottom:30px;}.site-middle-footer-inner-wrap .site-footer-section:not(:last-child):after{right:calc(-30px / 2);}.site-top-footer-wrap .site-footer-row-container-inner{font-style:normal;color:var(--global-palette8);}.site-footer .site-top-footer-wrap a:not(.button):not(.wp-block-button__link):not(.wp-element-button){color:var(--global-palette8);}.site-footer .site-top-footer-wrap a:not(.button):not(.wp-block-button__link):not(.wp-element-button):hover{color:var(--global-palette8);}.site-top-footer-inner-wrap{padding-top:30px;padding-bottom:30px;grid-column-gap:30px;grid-row-gap:30px;}.site-top-footer-inner-wrap .widget{margin-bottom:30px;}.site-top-footer-inner-wrap .widget-area .widget-title{font-style:normal;color:var(--global-palette8);}.site-top-footer-inner-wrap .site-footer-section:not(:last-child):after{right:calc(-30px / 2);}.site-bottom-footer-wrap .site-footer-row-container-inner{background:var(--global-palette3);font-style:normal;font-size:14px;color:var(--global-palette7);}.site-footer .site-bottom-footer-wrap a:where(:not(.button):not(.wp-block-button__link):not(.wp-element-button)){color:var(--global-palette7);}.site-footer .site-bottom-footer-wrap a:where(:not(.button):not(.wp-block-button__link):not(.wp-element-button)):hover{color:var(--global-palette9);}.site-bottom-footer-inner-wrap{padding-top:15px;padding-bottom:15px;grid-column-gap:30px;}.site-bottom-footer-inner-wrap .widget{margin-bottom:30px;}.site-bottom-footer-inner-wrap .site-footer-section:not(:last-child):after{right:calc(-30px / 2);}#colophon .footer-html{font-style:normal;font-weight:600;color:var(--global-palette8);margin:0.6em 0em 0.6em 0em;}#colophon .site-footer-row-container .site-footer-row .footer-html a{color:var(--global-palette8);}#colophon .site-footer-row-container .site-footer-row .footer-html a:hover{color:var(--global-palette8);}#colophon .footer-navigation .footer-menu-container > ul > li > a{padding-left:calc(1.2em / 2);padding-right:calc(1.2em / 2);padding-top:calc(1em / 2);padding-bottom:calc(1em / 2);color:var(--global-palette9);}#colophon .footer-navigation .footer-menu-container > ul li a:hover{color:var(--global-palette-highlight);}#colophon .footer-navigation .footer-menu-container > ul li.current-menu-item > a{color:var(--global-palette9);}</style> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="//earthhow.com/wp-content/cache/wpfc-minified/g1g8yucy/a3xdm.css" media="all"/> <style id='kadence-blocks-global-variables-inline-css'>:root{--global-kb-font-size-sm:clamp(0.8rem, 0.73rem + 0.217vw, 0.9rem);--global-kb-font-size-md:clamp(1.1rem, 0.995rem + 0.326vw, 1.25rem);--global-kb-font-size-lg:clamp(1.75rem, 1.576rem + 0.543vw, 2rem);--global-kb-font-size-xl:clamp(2.25rem, 1.728rem + 1.63vw, 3rem);--global-kb-font-size-xxl:clamp(2.5rem, 1.456rem + 3.26vw, 4rem);--global-kb-font-size-xxxl:clamp(2.75rem, 0.489rem + 7.065vw, 6rem);}</style> <style id='kadence_blocks_css-inline-css'>.kb-row-layout-id18087_9ac6f0-08 > .kt-row-column-wrap{padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:25px;grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr);}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kb-row-layout-id18087_9ac6f0-08 > .kt-row-column-wrap{grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr);}}.kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56 > .kt-inside-inner-col{display:flex;}.kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56 > .kt-inside-inner-col{padding-top:0px;padding-bottom:0px;}.kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56 > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:row;flex-wrap:wrap;align-items:center;justify-content:center;}.kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56 > .kt-inside-inner-col > *, .kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56 > .kt-inside-inner-col > figure.wp-block-image, .kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56 > .kt-inside-inner-col > figure.wp-block-kadence-image{margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;}.kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image-is-ratio-size{flex-grow:1;}.kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56 > .kt-inside-inner-col{background-color:var(--global-palette9, #ffffff);}.kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56{text-align:center;}.kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56, .kt-inside-inner-col > .kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56:not(.specificity){margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:row;flex-wrap:wrap;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56 > .kt-inside-inner-col > *, .kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56 > .kt-inside-inner-col > figure.wp-block-image, .kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56 > .kt-inside-inner-col > figure.wp-block-kadence-image{margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;}.kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image-is-ratio-size{flex-grow:1;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:row;flex-wrap:wrap;justify-content:center;}.kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56 > .kt-inside-inner-col > *, .kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56 > .kt-inside-inner-col > figure.wp-block-image, .kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56 > .kt-inside-inner-col > figure.wp-block-kadence-image{margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;}.kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image-is-ratio-size{flex-grow:1;}}.kb-posts-id-18087_4ff245-dc .entry.loop-entry .entry-header .entry-title{font-size:18px;line-height:20px;}.kb-posts-id-18087_4ff245-dc .loop-entry{background:transparent;box-shadow:none;}.kb-posts-id-18087_4ff245-dc .loop-entry > .entry-content-wrap{padding:0px;}.kb-posts-id-18087_4ff245-dc .loop-entry .post-thumbnail{margin-bottom:1em;}.kb-row-layout-id18087_d39f1d-9e > .kt-row-column-wrap{padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:25px;grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr);}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kb-row-layout-id18087_d39f1d-9e > .kt-row-column-wrap{grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr);}}.kadence-column18087_18901d-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col{display:flex;}.kadence-column18087_18901d-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col{padding-top:0px;padding-bottom:0px;}.kadence-column18087_18901d-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column18087_18901d-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column18087_18901d-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column18087_18901d-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col{background-color:var(--global-palette9, #ffffff);}.kadence-column18087_18901d-6a{text-align:center;}.kadence-column18087_18901d-6a, .kt-inside-inner-col > .kadence-column18087_18901d-6a:not(.specificity){margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column18087_18901d-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kadence-column18087_18901d-6a > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}}.wp-block-kadence-iconlist.kt-svg-icon-list-items9592_cb55c0-e8 ul.kt-svg-icon-list{grid-row-gap:5px;}.wp-block-kadence-iconlist.kt-svg-icon-list-items9592_b35d5f-08 ul.kt-svg-icon-list{grid-row-gap:5px;}</style> <style id='kadence_blocks_pro_css-inline-css'>.kt-post-loop18087_f8d185-d5 .kadence-post-image{padding-top:0px;padding-right:20px;padding-bottom:5px;padding-left:0px;}.kt-post-loop18087_f8d185-d5 .kt-feat-image-align-left{grid-template-columns:40% auto;}.kt-post-loop18087_f8d185-d5 .kt-post-grid-wrap{gap:10px 30px;}.kt-post-loop18087_f8d185-d5 .kt-blocks-post-grid-item{border-top-color:currentColor;border-top-style:solid;border-right-color:currentColor;border-right-style:solid;border-bottom-color:currentColor;border-bottom-style:solid;border-left-color:currentColor;border-left-style:solid;overflow:hidden;}.kt-post-loop18087_f8d185-d5 .kt-blocks-post-grid-item .kt-blocks-post-grid-item-inner{text-align:left;}.kt-post-loop18087_f8d185-d5 .kt-blocks-post-grid-item header{padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:10px;padding-left:0px;}.kt-post-loop18087_f8d185-d5 .kt-blocks-post-grid-item .kt-blocks-above-categories{font-size:13px;line-height:20px;text-transform:uppercase;}.kt-post-loop18087_f8d185-d5 .kt-blocks-post-grid-item .entry-title{padding-top:5px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin:0px 0px 0px 0px;font-size:18px;line-height:20px;}.kt-post-loop18087_f8d185-d5 .entry-content{font-size:14px;line-height:24px;}.kt-post-loop18087_f8d185-d5 .kt-blocks-post-footer{font-size:12px;line-height:20px;text-transform:uppercase;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kt-post-loop18087_f8d185-d5 .kt-blocks-post-grid-item{border-top-color:currentColor;border-top-style:solid;border-right-color:currentColor;border-right-style:solid;border-bottom-color:currentColor;border-bottom-style:solid;border-left-color:currentColor;border-left-style:solid;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kt-post-loop18087_f8d185-d5 .kt-blocks-post-grid-item{border-top-color:currentColor;border-top-style:solid;border-right-color:currentColor;border-right-style:solid;border-bottom-color:currentColor;border-bottom-style:solid;border-left-color:currentColor;border-left-style:solid;}}</style> <style id="kadence_blocks_palette_css">:root .has-kb-palette-1-color{color:#888888}:root .has-kb-palette-1-background-color{background-color:#888888}</style><script async="async" data-noptimize="1" data-cfasync="false" src="https://scripts.mediavine.com/tags/earth-how.js?ver=6.6.2" id="mv-script-wrapper-js"></script> <link rel="https://api.w.org/" href="https://earthhow.com/wp-json/"/><link rel="alternate" title="JSON" type="application/json" href="https://earthhow.com/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/9592"/><link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" title="RSD" href="https://earthhow.com/xmlrpc.php?rsd"/> <meta name="generator" content="WordPress 6.6.2"/> <link rel='shortlink' href='https://earthhow.com/?p=9592'/> <link rel="alternate" title="oEmbed (JSON)" type="application/json+oembed" href="https://earthhow.com/wp-json/oembed/1.0/embed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fearthhow.com%2Fmesosphere%2F"/> <link rel="alternate" title="oEmbed (XML)" type="text/xml+oembed" href="https://earthhow.com/wp-json/oembed/1.0/embed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fearthhow.com%2Fmesosphere%2F&format=xml"/> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-7J2VZZEQZM"></script> <script>window.dataLayer=window.dataLayer||[]; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-7J2VZZEQZM');</script> <link rel="icon" href="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/cropped-EarthHow-SiteIcon-1-32x32.jpg" sizes="32x32"/> <link rel="icon" href="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/cropped-EarthHow-SiteIcon-1-192x192.jpg" sizes="192x192"/> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/cropped-EarthHow-SiteIcon-1-180x180.jpg"/> <meta name="msapplication-TileImage" content="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/cropped-EarthHow-SiteIcon-1-270x270.jpg"/> <style id="wp-custom-css">*{font-family:Inter, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Noto Sans", sans-serif} .tnp-subscription-minimal input.tnp-submit{background-color:#00a87a;} .newsletter1{background-color:#2a7fb8;padding:20px;border-radius:5px;margin-top:40px;margin-bottom:40px;text-align:center;border:1px solid #dddddd;} @media only screen and (max-width: 767px) {.entry-content .alignright { float:none; display:block; padding:0px; margin:0px;}} @media only screen and (max-width: 767px) {.entry-content .alignleft {float:none; display:block; }} .wp-block-kadence-posts{row-gap:5px;} @media only screen and (max-width: 359px) { .content-container.site-container { padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; }}</style> </head> <body data-rsssl=1 class="post-template-default single single-post postid-9592 single-format-standard wp-custom-logo wp-embed-responsive footer-on-bottom hide-focus-outline link-style-standard has-sidebar content-title-style-normal content-width-normal content-style-boxed content-vertical-padding-show non-transparent-header mobile-non-transparent-header"> <div id="wrapper" class="site wp-site-blocks"> <a class="skip-link screen-reader-text scroll-ignore" href="#main">Skip to content</a> <header id="masthead" class="site-header" role="banner" itemtype="https://schema.org/WPHeader" itemscope> <div id="main-header" class="site-header-wrap"> <div class="site-header-inner-wrap"> <div class="site-header-upper-wrap"> <div class="site-header-upper-inner-wrap"> <div class="site-main-header-wrap site-header-row-container site-header-focus-item site-header-row-layout-standard" data-section="kadence_customizer_header_main"> <div class="site-header-row-container-inner"> <div class="site-container"> <div class="site-main-header-inner-wrap site-header-row site-header-row-has-sides site-header-row-no-center"> <div class="site-header-main-section-left site-header-section site-header-section-left"> <div class="site-header-item site-header-focus-item" data-section="title_tagline"> <div class="site-branding branding-layout-standard site-brand-logo-only"><a class="brand has-logo-image" href="https://earthhow.com/" rel="home"><img width="539" height="65" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/EarthHow-Logo.png" class="custom-logo" alt="EarthHow Logo" decoding="async" srcset="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/EarthHow-Logo.png 539w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/EarthHow-Logo-300x36.png 300w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/EarthHow-Logo-425x51.png 425w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/EarthHow-Logo-140x17.png 140w" sizes="(max-width: 539px) 100vw, 539px"/></a></div></div></div><div class="site-header-main-section-right site-header-section site-header-section-right"> <div class="site-header-item site-header-focus-item site-header-item-main-navigation header-navigation-layout-stretch-false header-navigation-layout-fill-stretch-false" data-section="kadence_customizer_primary_navigation"> <nav id="site-navigation" class="main-navigation header-navigation nav--toggle-sub header-navigation-style-standard header-navigation-dropdown-animation-none" role="navigation" aria-label="Primary Navigation"> <div class="primary-menu-container header-menu-container"> <ul id="primary-menu" class="menu"><li id="menu-item-17132" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-17132"><a href="https://earthhow.com/atmosphere/">Atmosphere</a></li> <li id="menu-item-17131" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-17131"><a href="https://earthhow.com/biology/">Biology</a></li> <li id="menu-item-17130" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-17130"><a href="https://earthhow.com/career/">Career</a></li> <li id="menu-item-17129" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-17129"><a href="https://earthhow.com/geology/">Geology</a></li> <li id="menu-item-17128" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-17128"><a href="https://earthhow.com/space/">Space</a></li> <li id="menu-item-17127" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-17127"><a href="https://earthhow.com/water/">Water</a></li> </ul></div></nav></div><div class="site-header-item site-header-focus-item" data-section="kadence_customizer_header_search"> <div class="search-toggle-open-container"> <button class="search-toggle-open drawer-toggle search-toggle-style-default" aria-label="View Search Form" data-toggle-target="#search-drawer" data-toggle-body-class="showing-popup-drawer-from-full" aria-expanded="false" data-set-focus="#search-drawer .search-field" > <span class="search-toggle-icon"><span class="kadence-svg-iconset"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="kadence-svg-icon kadence-search-svg" fill="currentColor" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="26" height="28" viewBox="0 0 26 28"><title>Search</title><path d="M18 13c0-3.859-3.141-7-7-7s-7 3.141-7 7 3.141 7 7 7 7-3.141 7-7zM26 26c0 1.094-0.906 2-2 2-0.531 0-1.047-0.219-1.406-0.594l-5.359-5.344c-1.828 1.266-4.016 1.937-6.234 1.937-6.078 0-11-4.922-11-11s4.922-11 11-11 11 4.922 11 11c0 2.219-0.672 4.406-1.937 6.234l5.359 5.359c0.359 0.359 0.578 0.875 0.578 1.406z"></path> </svg></span></span> </button></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div id="mobile-header" class="site-mobile-header-wrap"> <div class="site-header-inner-wrap"> <div class="site-header-upper-wrap"> <div class="site-header-upper-inner-wrap"> <div class="site-main-header-wrap site-header-focus-item site-header-row-layout-standard site-header-row-tablet-layout-default site-header-row-mobile-layout-default"> <div class="site-header-row-container-inner"> <div class="site-container"> <div class="site-main-header-inner-wrap site-header-row site-header-row-has-sides site-header-row-center-column"> <div class="site-header-main-section-left site-header-section site-header-section-left"> <div class="site-header-item site-header-focus-item site-header-item-navgation-popup-toggle" data-section="kadence_customizer_mobile_trigger"> <div class="mobile-toggle-open-container"> <button id="mobile-toggle" class="menu-toggle-open drawer-toggle menu-toggle-style-default" aria-label="Open menu" data-toggle-target="#mobile-drawer" data-toggle-body-class="showing-popup-drawer-from-left" aria-expanded="false" data-set-focus=".menu-toggle-close" > <span class="menu-toggle-icon"><span class="kadence-svg-iconset"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="kadence-svg-icon kadence-menu-svg" fill="currentColor" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><title>Toggle Menu</title><path d="M3 13h18c0.552 0 1-0.448 1-1s-0.448-1-1-1h-18c-0.552 0-1 0.448-1 1s0.448 1 1 1zM3 7h18c0.552 0 1-0.448 1-1s-0.448-1-1-1h-18c-0.552 0-1 0.448-1 1s0.448 1 1 1zM3 19h18c0.552 0 1-0.448 1-1s-0.448-1-1-1h-18c-0.552 0-1 0.448-1 1s0.448 1 1 1z"></path> </svg></span></span> </button></div></div></div><div class="site-header-main-section-center site-header-section site-header-section-center"> <div class="site-header-item site-header-focus-item" data-section="title_tagline"> <div class="site-branding mobile-site-branding branding-layout-standard branding-tablet-layout-standard site-brand-logo-only branding-mobile-layout-standard site-brand-logo-only"><a class="brand has-logo-image" href="https://earthhow.com/" rel="home"><img width="539" height="65" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/EarthHow-Logo.png" class="custom-logo" alt="EarthHow Logo" decoding="async" srcset="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/EarthHow-Logo.png 539w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/EarthHow-Logo-300x36.png 300w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/EarthHow-Logo-425x51.png 425w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/EarthHow-Logo-140x17.png 140w" sizes="(max-width: 539px) 100vw, 539px"/></a></div></div></div><div class="site-header-main-section-right site-header-section site-header-section-right"> <div class="site-header-item site-header-focus-item" data-section="kadence_customizer_header_search"> <div class="search-toggle-open-container"> <button class="search-toggle-open drawer-toggle search-toggle-style-default" aria-label="View Search Form" data-toggle-target="#search-drawer" data-toggle-body-class="showing-popup-drawer-from-full" aria-expanded="false" data-set-focus="#search-drawer .search-field" > <span class="search-toggle-icon"><span class="kadence-svg-iconset"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="kadence-svg-icon kadence-search-svg" fill="currentColor" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="26" height="28" viewBox="0 0 26 28"><title>Search</title><path d="M18 13c0-3.859-3.141-7-7-7s-7 3.141-7 7 3.141 7 7 7 7-3.141 7-7zM26 26c0 1.094-0.906 2-2 2-0.531 0-1.047-0.219-1.406-0.594l-5.359-5.344c-1.828 1.266-4.016 1.937-6.234 1.937-6.078 0-11-4.922-11-11s4.922-11 11-11 11 4.922 11 11c0 2.219-0.672 4.406-1.937 6.234l5.359 5.359c0.359 0.359 0.578 0.875 0.578 1.406z"></path> </svg></span></span> </button></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></header> <div id="inner-wrap" class="wrap kt-clear"> <div id="primary" class="content-area"> <div class="content-container site-container"> <main id="main" class="site-main" role="main"> <div class="content-wrap"> <article id="post-9592" class="entry content-bg single-entry post-9592 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-atmosphere category-outside-earth mv-content-wrapper"> <div class="entry-content-wrap"> <header class="entry-header post-title title-align-center title-tablet-align-center title-mobile-align-inherit"> <div class="kadence-breadcrumbs yoast-bc-wrap"><span><span><a href="https://earthhow.com/">Home</a></span> » <span><a href="https://earthhow.com/category/atmosphere/">Atmosphere</a></span> » <span><a href="https://earthhow.com/category/atmosphere/outside-earth/">Outside Earth</a></span> » <span class="breadcrumb_last" aria-current="page">What Is the Mesosphere?</span></span></div><h1 class="entry-title">What Is the Mesosphere?</h1><div class="entry-meta entry-meta-divider-customicon"> <div class="meta-comments"><span class="kadence-svg-iconset"><svg class="kadence-svg-icon kadence-comments-alt-svg" fill="currentColor" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="28" height="28" viewBox="0 0 28 28"><title>Comments</title><path d="M10 14c0 1.109-0.891 2-2 2s-2-0.891-2-2 0.891-2 2-2 2 0.891 2 2zM16 14c0 1.109-0.891 2-2 2s-2-0.891-2-2 0.891-2 2-2 2 0.891 2 2zM22 14c0 1.109-0.891 2-2 2s-2-0.891-2-2 0.891-2 2-2 2 0.891 2 2zM14 6c-6.5 0-12 3.656-12 8 0 2.328 1.563 4.547 4.266 6.078l1.359 0.781-0.422 1.5c-0.297 1.109-0.688 1.969-1.094 2.688 1.578-0.656 3.016-1.547 4.297-2.672l0.672-0.594 0.891 0.094c0.672 0.078 1.359 0.125 2.031 0.125 6.5 0 12-3.656 12-8s-5.5-8-12-8zM28 14c0 5.531-6.266 10-14 10-0.766 0-1.531-0.047-2.266-0.125-2.047 1.813-4.484 3.094-7.187 3.781-0.562 0.156-1.172 0.266-1.781 0.344h-0.078c-0.313 0-0.594-0.25-0.672-0.594v-0.016c-0.078-0.391 0.187-0.625 0.422-0.906 0.984-1.109 2.109-2.047 2.844-4.656-3.219-1.828-5.281-4.656-5.281-7.828 0-5.516 6.266-10 14-10v0c7.734 0 14 4.484 14 10z"></path> </svg></span><a class="meta-comments-link anchor-scroll" href="#comments">2 Comments</a></div></div></header> <div class="entry-content single-content"> <figure class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="678" height="378" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Mesosphere-Feature-678x378.png" alt="Mesosphere" class="wp-image-11707"/></figure> <div class="wp-block-group" style="padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Highlights of the mesosphere</h3> <p>The mesosphere is the third <a href="https://earthhow.com/atmosphere-layers-troposphere-stratosphere-mesosphere-thermosphere/">layer of the atmosphere</a>. It spans a vertical distance from 50 to 90 km.</p> <div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"> <figure class="alignright"><a href="https://earthhow.com/atmosphere-layers-troposphere-stratosphere-mesosphere-thermosphere/"><img decoding="async" width="178" height="300" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Atmosphere-Layers-To-Scale-178x300.png" alt="Atmosphere Layers" class="wp-image-9605" srcset="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Atmosphere-Layers-To-Scale-178x300.png 178w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Atmosphere-Layers-To-Scale-252x425.png 252w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Atmosphere-Layers-To-Scale-326x550.png 326w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Atmosphere-Layers-To-Scale.png 359w" sizes="(max-width: 178px) 100vw, 178px"/></a></figure></div><p>Here are some of the highlights of the mesosphere:</p> <div class="wp-block-kadence-iconlist kt-svg-icon-list-items kt-svg-icon-list-items9592_cb55c0-e8 kt-svg-icon-list-columns-1 alignnone"><ul class="kt-svg-icon-list"> <li class="wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-9592_9d0087-c3"><span class="kb-svg-icon-wrap kb-svg-icon-fe_checkCircle kt-svg-icon-list-single"><svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M22 11.08V12a10 10 0 1 1-5.93-9.14"/><polyline points="22 4 12 14.01 9 11.01"/></svg></span><span class="kt-svg-icon-list-text">The mesosphere is the <strong>coldest region</strong> of <a href="https://earthhow.com/atmosphere-layers-troposphere-stratosphere-mesosphere-thermosphere/">Earth’s atmosphere</a>, close to -100°C.</span></li> <li class="wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-9592_973a92-c3"><span class="kb-svg-icon-wrap kb-svg-icon-fe_checkCircle kt-svg-icon-list-single"><svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M22 11.08V12a10 10 0 1 1-5.93-9.14"/><polyline points="22 4 12 14.01 9 11.01"/></svg></span><span class="kt-svg-icon-list-text">It’s the layer of the atmosphere where meteors burn up into small fragments of dust.</span></li> <li class="wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-9592_27f9e9-e7"><span class="kb-svg-icon-wrap kb-svg-icon-fe_checkCircle kt-svg-icon-list-single"><svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M22 11.08V12a10 10 0 1 1-5.93-9.14"/><polyline points="22 4 12 14.01 9 11.01"/></svg></span><span class="kt-svg-icon-list-text">The mesosphere has little impact on <a href="https://earthhow.com/weather-facts/">weather patterns</a>, pollution transport, and water vapor availability.</span></li> <li class="wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-9592_1ea382-89"><span class="kb-svg-icon-wrap kb-svg-icon-fe_checkCircle kt-svg-icon-list-single"><svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M22 11.08V12a10 10 0 1 1-5.93-9.14"/><polyline points="22 4 12 14.01 9 11.01"/></svg></span><span class="kt-svg-icon-list-text">The air is very thin in the mesosphere similar to a vacuum.</span></li> <li class="wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-9592_e51e3b-14"><span class="kb-svg-icon-wrap kb-svg-icon-fe_checkCircle kt-svg-icon-list-single"><svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M22 11.08V12a10 10 0 1 1-5.93-9.14"/><polyline points="22 4 12 14.01 9 11.01"/></svg></span><span class="kt-svg-icon-list-text">The mesosphere is sandwiched between the stratosphere below and the thermosphere above.</span></li> </ul></div></div></div><div class="wp-block-group" style="padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Where is the mesosphere?</h3> <p>This image shows where the mesosphere is located in the atmosphere.</p> <div class="wp-block-kadence-iconlist kt-svg-icon-list-items kt-svg-icon-list-items9592_b35d5f-08 kt-svg-icon-list-columns-1 alignnone"><ul class="kt-svg-icon-list"> <li class="wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-9592_ba8119-ec"><span class="kb-svg-icon-wrap kb-svg-icon-fe_checkCircle kt-svg-icon-list-single"><svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M22 11.08V12a10 10 0 1 1-5.93-9.14"/><polyline points="22 4 12 14.01 9 11.01"/></svg></span><span class="kt-svg-icon-list-text">It’s directly above the <a href="https://earthhow.com/stratosphere/">stratosphere</a> and below the thermosphere.</span></li> <li class="wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-9592_fe12b9-8d"><span class="kb-svg-icon-wrap kb-svg-icon-fe_checkCircle kt-svg-icon-list-single"><svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M22 11.08V12a10 10 0 1 1-5.93-9.14"/><polyline points="22 4 12 14.01 9 11.01"/></svg></span><span class="kt-svg-icon-list-text">The <strong>mesopause</strong> is the transition into the thermosphere at the top of the mesosphere.</span></li> <li class="wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-9592_115dd6-7f"><span class="kb-svg-icon-wrap kb-svg-icon-fe_checkCircle kt-svg-icon-list-single"><svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M22 11.08V12a10 10 0 1 1-5.93-9.14"/><polyline points="22 4 12 14.01 9 11.01"/></svg></span><span class="kt-svg-icon-list-text">Then, the transition below into the stratosphere is called the stratopause.</span></li> </ul></div><p>The <a href="https://earthhow.com/thermosphere/">thermosphere</a> which consists of the ionosphere and <a href="https://earthhow.com/exosphere/">exosphere</a> is above the mesosphere. These layers of the atmosphere contain just 0.001% of the air mass over the Earth.</p> <blockquote class="wp-block-quote has-text-align-center is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"> <p>“The mesosphere spans a vertical distance between 50 to 90 km. It’s sandwiched between the stratosphere below and the thermosphere above”</p> </blockquote> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-default"/></div></div><div class="wp-block-group" style="padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">The mesosphere breaks up meteors</h3> <div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"> <figure class="alignright"><a href="https://earthhow.com/meteors-meteoroids-meteorites-differences/"><img decoding="async" width="290" height="300" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Meteor-Differences-290x300.png" alt="Meteor Differences" class="wp-image-1947" srcset="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Meteor-Differences-290x300.png 290w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Meteor-Differences.png 407w" sizes="(max-width: 290px) 100vw, 290px"/></a></figure></div><p>If space rocks fall towards Earth, it’s in the mesosphere where they burn up. But if any space rocks get through the mesosphere, the ones that hit Earth are called meteorites.</p> <p>The mesosphere layer protects the Earth from large meteoroids. It’s in the mesosphere where it serves as a shield for <a href="https://earthhow.com/meteors-meteoroids-meteorites-differences/">meteorites</a>.</p> <p>Friction in the <strong>mesosphere burns up meteors</strong>. Then, they disintegrate into small pieces of dust. From our eyes, we see the ionized trails left by the remains of meteors.</p></div></div><div class="wp-block-group" style="padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">What is the air temperature in the mesosphere?</h3> <div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"> <figure class="alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="372" height="425" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Atmosphere-Temperature-Vertical-372x425.png" alt="Atmosphere Temperature Vertical" class="wp-image-9824" srcset="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Atmosphere-Temperature-Vertical-372x425.png 372w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Atmosphere-Temperature-Vertical-262x300.png 262w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Atmosphere-Temperature-Vertical-675x772.png 675w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Atmosphere-Temperature-Vertical-481x550.png 481w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Atmosphere-Temperature-Vertical.png 738w" sizes="(max-width: 372px) 100vw, 372px"/></figure></div><p>Temperature decreases with height in the mesosphere. In fact, temperatures can reach as low as 100 K in this layer of the atmosphere.</p> <p>Remember that the <a href="https://earthhow.com/ozone-layer/">ozone layer</a> in the stratosphere below absorbs ultraviolet radiation and elevates temperatures. This is why it’s an inverted temperature gradient upward to the stratopause.</p> <p>Then, the mesopause is the altitude at which the temperature reaches a minimum before increasing with height in the thermosphere.</p></div></div><div style="height:5px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div><div class="wp-block-group" style="padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Is the Mesosphere?</h2> <p>The mesosphere is the second major layer of Earth’s atmosphere, from about 50 to 85 kilometers (30 to 55 miles) above the surface. It sits directly above the stratosphere and below the thermosphere.</p> <p>It is characterized by extremely low air pressure and temperatures that can drop as low as -90 degrees Celsius (-130 degrees Fahrenheit), making it a region <strong>where meteors burn up upon entry</strong> due to the sparse air molecules.</p> <p>Do you have any questions about the atmosphere and how it relates to the mesosphere? Please let us know with a comment below.</p></div></div><div class="newsletter1"><span style="color:#FFFFFF">Subscribe to our newsletter:</span> <div class="tnp tnp-subscription-minimal"><form action="https://earthhow.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=tnp&na=s" method="post" style="text-align: center"><input type="hidden" name="nr" value="minimal"> <input type="hidden" name="nlang" value=""> <input class="tnp-email" type="email" required name="ne" value="" placeholder="Email"><input class="tnp-submit" type="submit" value="Subscribe" style=""> </form></div></div><div class="kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id18087_9ac6f0-08 alignnone wp-block-kadence-rowlayout"><div class="kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-1-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top"> <div class="wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column18087_8adc6b-56 kvs-sm-false kb-section-dir-horizontal"><div class="kt-inside-inner-col"><div class="wp-block-kadence-posts kb-posts kb-posts-id-18087_4ff245-dc content-wrap grid-cols kb-posts-style-unboxed grid-sm-col-2 grid-lg-col-3 item-image-style-above"><article class="entry content-bg loop-entry post-9535 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-atmosphere category-weather tag-feature mv-content-wrapper"> <a class="post-thumbnail kadence-thumbnail-ratio-2-3" href="https://earthhow.com/el-nino-la-nina/"> <div class="post-thumbnail-inner"> <img width="425" height="319" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/El-Nino-Feature-425x319.png" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-post-image" alt="El Nino" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/El-Nino-Feature-425x319.png 425w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/El-Nino-Feature-300x225.png 300w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/El-Nino-Feature-675x507.png 675w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/El-Nino-Feature-550x413.png 550w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/El-Nino-Feature.png 678w" sizes="(max-width: 425px) 100vw, 425px"/></div></a> <div class="entry-content-wrap"> <header class="entry-header"> <h6 class="entry-title"><a href="https://earthhow.com/el-nino-la-nina/" rel="bookmark">El Niño vs. La Niña: What’s the Difference?</a></h6></header> <footer class="entry-footer"> </footer></div></article> <article class="entry content-bg loop-entry post-2566 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-atmosphere category-magnetosphere mv-content-wrapper"> <a class="post-thumbnail kadence-thumbnail-ratio-2-3" href="https://earthhow.com/geomagnetic-reversal/"> <div class="post-thumbnail-inner"> <img width="425" height="319" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Magnetic-Pole-Reversal-1-425x319.png" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-post-image" alt="Magnetic Pole Reversals" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Magnetic-Pole-Reversal-1-425x319.png 425w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Magnetic-Pole-Reversal-1-300x225.png 300w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Magnetic-Pole-Reversal-1-675x507.png 675w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Magnetic-Pole-Reversal-1-550x413.png 550w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Magnetic-Pole-Reversal-1.png 678w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Magnetic-Pole-Reversal-1-326x245.png 326w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Magnetic-Pole-Reversal-1-80x60.png 80w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Magnetic-Pole-Reversal-1-267x200.png 267w" sizes="(max-width: 425px) 100vw, 425px"/></div></a> <div class="entry-content-wrap"> <header class="entry-header"> <h6 class="entry-title"><a href="https://earthhow.com/geomagnetic-reversal/" rel="bookmark">Earth’s Geomagnetic Reversal: Flipping Polarity</a></h6></header> <footer class="entry-footer"> </footer></div></article> <article class="entry content-bg loop-entry post-9600 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-atmosphere category-outside-earth mv-content-wrapper"> <a class="post-thumbnail kadence-thumbnail-ratio-2-3" href="https://earthhow.com/exosphere/"> <div class="post-thumbnail-inner"> <img width="425" height="319" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Exosphere-Feature-1-425x319.png" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-post-image" alt="Exosphere" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Exosphere-Feature-1-425x319.png 425w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Exosphere-Feature-1-300x225.png 300w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Exosphere-Feature-1-675x507.png 675w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Exosphere-Feature-1-550x413.png 550w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Exosphere-Feature-1.png 678w" sizes="(max-width: 425px) 100vw, 425px"/></div></a> <div class="entry-content-wrap"> <header class="entry-header"> <h6 class="entry-title"><a href="https://earthhow.com/exosphere/" rel="bookmark">What Is the Exosphere?</a></h6></header> <footer class="entry-footer"> </footer></div></article> <article class="entry content-bg loop-entry post-137 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-atmosphere category-outside-earth tag-feature mv-content-wrapper"> <a class="post-thumbnail kadence-thumbnail-ratio-2-3" href="https://earthhow.com/earth-atmosphere-composition/"> <div class="post-thumbnail-inner"> <img width="425" height="319" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Earth-Atmosphere-Composition-0-425x319.png" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-post-image" alt="Earth Atmosphere Composition" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Earth-Atmosphere-Composition-0-425x319.png 425w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Earth-Atmosphere-Composition-0-300x225.png 300w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Earth-Atmosphere-Composition-0-675x507.png 675w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Earth-Atmosphere-Composition-0-550x413.png 550w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Earth-Atmosphere-Composition-0.png 678w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Earth-Atmosphere-Composition-0-326x245.png 326w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Earth-Atmosphere-Composition-0-80x60.png 80w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Earth-Atmosphere-Composition-0-267x200.png 267w" sizes="(max-width: 425px) 100vw, 425px"/></div></a> <div class="entry-content-wrap"> <header class="entry-header"> <h6 class="entry-title"><a href="https://earthhow.com/earth-atmosphere-composition/" rel="bookmark">Earth’s Atmosphere Composition: Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon and CO2</a></h6></header> <footer class="entry-footer"> </footer></div></article> <article class="entry content-bg loop-entry post-9596 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-atmosphere category-outside-earth mv-content-wrapper"> <a class="post-thumbnail kadence-thumbnail-ratio-2-3" href="https://earthhow.com/thermosphere/"> <div class="post-thumbnail-inner"> <img width="425" height="319" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Thermosphere-Feature-1-425x319.jpg" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-post-image" alt="Thermosphere" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Thermosphere-Feature-1-425x319.jpg 425w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Thermosphere-Feature-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Thermosphere-Feature-1-675x507.jpg 675w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Thermosphere-Feature-1-550x413.jpg 550w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Thermosphere-Feature-1.jpg 678w" sizes="(max-width: 425px) 100vw, 425px"/></div></a> <div class="entry-content-wrap"> <header class="entry-header"> <h6 class="entry-title"><a href="https://earthhow.com/thermosphere/" rel="bookmark">What Is the Thermosphere? [Infographic]</a></h6></header> <footer class="entry-footer"> </footer></div></article> <article class="entry content-bg loop-entry post-2658 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-atmosphere category-climate-change mv-content-wrapper"> <a class="post-thumbnail kadence-thumbnail-ratio-2-3" href="https://earthhow.com/human-footprint/"> <div class="post-thumbnail-inner"> <img width="425" height="319" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Human-Footprint-Population-425x319.png" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-post-image" alt="Human Footprint Population Growth" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Human-Footprint-Population-425x319.png 425w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Human-Footprint-Population-300x225.png 300w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Human-Footprint-Population-675x507.png 675w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Human-Footprint-Population-550x413.png 550w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Human-Footprint-Population.png 678w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Human-Footprint-Population-326x245.png 326w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Human-Footprint-Population-80x60.png 80w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Human-Footprint-Population-267x200.png 267w" sizes="(max-width: 425px) 100vw, 425px"/></div></a> <div class="entry-content-wrap"> <header class="entry-header"> <h6 class="entry-title"><a href="https://earthhow.com/human-footprint/" rel="bookmark">The Human Footprint: 8 Billion People on Earth</a></h6></header> <footer class="entry-footer"> </footer></div></article></div></div></div></div></div><div class="kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id18087_d39f1d-9e alignnone wp-block-kadence-rowlayout"><div class="kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-1-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top"> <div class="wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column18087_18901d-6a kvs-lg-false kvs-md-false kb-section-dir-vertical"><div class="kt-inside-inner-col"><div class="wp-block-kadence-postgrid kt-blocks-post-loop-block alignnone kt-post-loop18087_f8d185-d5 kt-post-grid-layout-grid"><div class="kt-post-grid-layout-grid-wrap kt-post-grid-wrap" data-columns-xxl="2" data-columns-xl="2" data-columns-md="2" data-columns-sm="2" data-columns-xs="1" data-columns-ss="1"data-item-selector=".kt-post-masonry-item"><article class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item post-2612 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-atmosphere category-weather tag-feature mv-content-wrapper"><div class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item-inner-wrap kt-feat-image-align-left kt-feat-image-mobile-align-side"><div class="kadence-post-image"><div class="kadence-post-image-intrisic kt-image-ratio-66-67" style="padding-bottom:66.67%;"><div class="kadence-post-image-inner-intrisic"><a href="https://earthhow.com/lightning-facts/" aria-label="Read More 10 Electrifying Lightning Facts: Get Thunderstruck" class="kadence-post-image-inner-wrap"><img width="300" height="225" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Lightning-Facts-300x225.png" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Lightning Facts" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Lightning-Facts-300x225.png 300w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Lightning-Facts-675x507.png 675w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Lightning-Facts-425x319.png 425w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Lightning-Facts-550x413.png 550w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Lightning-Facts.png 678w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Lightning-Facts-326x245.png 326w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Lightning-Facts-80x60.png 80w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Lightning-Facts-267x200.png 267w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px"/></a></div></div></div><div class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item-inner"><header><h6 class="entry-title"><a href="https://earthhow.com/lightning-facts/">10 Electrifying Lightning Facts: Get Thunderstruck</a></h6><div class="kt-blocks-post-top-meta"></div></header><div class="entry-content"></div><footer class="kt-blocks-post-footer"><div class="kt-blocks-post-footer-left"></div><div class="kt-blocks-post-footer-right"></div></footer></div></div></article><article class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item post-2604 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-atmosphere category-climate-change tag-feature mv-content-wrapper"><div class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item-inner-wrap kt-feat-image-align-left kt-feat-image-mobile-align-side"><div class="kadence-post-image"><div class="kadence-post-image-intrisic kt-image-ratio-66-67" style="padding-bottom:66.67%;"><div class="kadence-post-image-inner-intrisic"><a href="https://earthhow.com/climate-feedback-loops/" aria-label="Read More 15 Climate Feedback Loops and Examples" class="kadence-post-image-inner-wrap"><img width="300" height="225" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Climate-Feedback-Loops-300x225.png" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Climate Feedback Loops" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Climate-Feedback-Loops-300x225.png 300w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Climate-Feedback-Loops-675x507.png 675w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Climate-Feedback-Loops-425x319.png 425w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Climate-Feedback-Loops-550x413.png 550w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Climate-Feedback-Loops.png 678w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Climate-Feedback-Loops-326x245.png 326w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Climate-Feedback-Loops-80x60.png 80w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Climate-Feedback-Loops-267x200.png 267w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px"/></a></div></div></div><div class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item-inner"><header><h6 class="entry-title"><a href="https://earthhow.com/climate-feedback-loops/">15 Climate Feedback Loops and Examples</a></h6><div class="kt-blocks-post-top-meta"></div></header><div class="entry-content"></div><footer class="kt-blocks-post-footer"><div class="kt-blocks-post-footer-left"></div><div class="kt-blocks-post-footer-right"></div></footer></div></div></article><article class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item post-2580 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-atmosphere category-climate-change tag-feature mv-content-wrapper"><div class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item-inner-wrap kt-feat-image-align-left kt-feat-image-mobile-align-side"><div class="kadence-post-image"><div class="kadence-post-image-intrisic kt-image-ratio-66-67" style="padding-bottom:66.67%;"><div class="kadence-post-image-inner-intrisic"><a href="https://earthhow.com/milankovitch-cycle/" aria-label="Read More What Are the 3 Milankovitch Cycles?" class="kadence-post-image-inner-wrap"><img width="300" height="225" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Milankovitch-Cycle-300x225.png" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Milankovitch Cycle" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Milankovitch-Cycle-300x225.png 300w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Milankovitch-Cycle-675x507.png 675w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Milankovitch-Cycle-425x319.png 425w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Milankovitch-Cycle-550x413.png 550w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Milankovitch-Cycle.png 678w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Milankovitch-Cycle-326x245.png 326w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Milankovitch-Cycle-80x60.png 80w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Milankovitch-Cycle-267x200.png 267w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px"/></a></div></div></div><div class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item-inner"><header><h6 class="entry-title"><a href="https://earthhow.com/milankovitch-cycle/">What Are the 3 Milankovitch Cycles?</a></h6><div class="kt-blocks-post-top-meta"></div></header><div class="entry-content"></div><footer class="kt-blocks-post-footer"><div class="kt-blocks-post-footer-left"></div><div class="kt-blocks-post-footer-right"></div></footer></div></div></article><article class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item post-974 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-atmosphere category-outside-earth mv-content-wrapper"><div class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item-inner-wrap kt-feat-image-align-left kt-feat-image-mobile-align-side"><div class="kadence-post-image"><div class="kadence-post-image-intrisic kt-image-ratio-66-67" style="padding-bottom:66.67%;"><div class="kadence-post-image-inner-intrisic"><a href="https://earthhow.com/space-junk/" aria-label="Read More How Much Space Junk Orbits Earth? [Infographic]" class="kadence-post-image-inner-wrap"><img width="300" height="225" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Space-Junk-0-300x225.png" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Space Junk" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Space-Junk-0-300x225.png 300w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Space-Junk-0-675x507.png 675w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Space-Junk-0-425x319.png 425w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Space-Junk-0-550x413.png 550w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Space-Junk-0.png 678w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Space-Junk-0-326x245.png 326w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Space-Junk-0-80x60.png 80w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Space-Junk-0-267x200.png 267w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px"/></a></div></div></div><div class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item-inner"><header><h6 class="entry-title"><a href="https://earthhow.com/space-junk/">How Much Space Junk Orbits Earth? [Infographic]</a></h6><div class="kt-blocks-post-top-meta"></div></header><div class="entry-content"></div><footer class="kt-blocks-post-footer"><div class="kt-blocks-post-footer-left"></div><div class="kt-blocks-post-footer-right"></div></footer></div></div></article><article class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item post-12457 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-atmosphere category-weather mv-content-wrapper"><div class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item-inner-wrap kt-feat-image-align-left kt-feat-image-mobile-align-side"><div class="kadence-post-image"><div class="kadence-post-image-intrisic kt-image-ratio-66-67" style="padding-bottom:66.67%;"><div class="kadence-post-image-inner-intrisic"><a href="https://earthhow.com/what-are-tornadoes/" aria-label="Read More What Are Tornadoes?" class="kadence-post-image-inner-wrap"><img width="300" height="225" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Tornadoes-0-300x225.png" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Tornadoes" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Tornadoes-0-300x225.png 300w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Tornadoes-0-675x507.png 675w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Tornadoes-0-425x319.png 425w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Tornadoes-0-550x413.png 550w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Tornadoes-0.png 678w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px"/></a></div></div></div><div class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item-inner"><header><h6 class="entry-title"><a href="https://earthhow.com/what-are-tornadoes/">What Are Tornadoes?</a></h6><div class="kt-blocks-post-top-meta"></div></header><div class="entry-content"></div><footer class="kt-blocks-post-footer"><div class="kt-blocks-post-footer-left"></div><div class="kt-blocks-post-footer-right"></div></footer></div></div></article><article class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item post-52 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-atmosphere category-climate-change tag-feature mv-content-wrapper"><div class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item-inner-wrap kt-feat-image-align-left kt-feat-image-mobile-align-side"><div class="kadence-post-image"><div class="kadence-post-image-intrisic kt-image-ratio-66-67" style="padding-bottom:66.67%;"><div class="kadence-post-image-inner-intrisic"><a href="https://earthhow.com/air-pollution-sources/" aria-label="Read More 5 Major Air Pollution Sources in the Atmosphere" class="kadence-post-image-inner-wrap"><img width="300" height="225" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Air-Pollution-Feature-300x225.png" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Air Pollution" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Air-Pollution-Feature-300x225.png 300w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Air-Pollution-Feature-675x507.png 675w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Air-Pollution-Feature-425x319.png 425w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Air-Pollution-Feature-550x413.png 550w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Air-Pollution-Feature.png 678w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px"/></a></div></div></div><div class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item-inner"><header><h6 class="entry-title"><a href="https://earthhow.com/air-pollution-sources/">5 Major Air Pollution Sources in the Atmosphere</a></h6><div class="kt-blocks-post-top-meta"></div></header><div class="entry-content"></div><footer class="kt-blocks-post-footer"><div class="kt-blocks-post-footer-left"></div><div class="kt-blocks-post-footer-right"></div></footer></div></div></article><article class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item post-2508 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-atmosphere category-weather tag-feature mv-content-wrapper"><div class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item-inner-wrap kt-feat-image-align-left kt-feat-image-mobile-align-side"><div class="kadence-post-image"><div class="kadence-post-image-intrisic kt-image-ratio-66-67" style="padding-bottom:66.67%;"><div class="kadence-post-image-inner-intrisic"><a href="https://earthhow.com/weather-facts/" aria-label="Read More 10 Unbelievable Weather and Climate Facts" class="kadence-post-image-inner-wrap"><img width="300" height="225" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Weather-Patterns-Feature-300x225.png" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Weather Patterns" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Weather-Patterns-Feature-300x225.png 300w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Weather-Patterns-Feature-675x507.png 675w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Weather-Patterns-Feature-425x319.png 425w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Weather-Patterns-Feature-550x413.png 550w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Weather-Patterns-Feature.png 678w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Weather-Patterns-Feature-326x245.png 326w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Weather-Patterns-Feature-80x60.png 80w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Weather-Patterns-Feature-267x200.png 267w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px"/></a></div></div></div><div class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item-inner"><header><h6 class="entry-title"><a href="https://earthhow.com/weather-facts/">10 Unbelievable Weather and Climate Facts</a></h6><div class="kt-blocks-post-top-meta"></div></header><div class="entry-content"></div><footer class="kt-blocks-post-footer"><div class="kt-blocks-post-footer-left"></div><div class="kt-blocks-post-footer-right"></div></footer></div></div></article><article class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item post-981 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-atmosphere category-magnetosphere mv-content-wrapper"><div class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item-inner-wrap kt-feat-image-align-left kt-feat-image-mobile-align-side"><div class="kadence-post-image"><div class="kadence-post-image-intrisic kt-image-ratio-66-67" style="padding-bottom:66.67%;"><div class="kadence-post-image-inner-intrisic"><a href="https://earthhow.com/magnetic-reconnection/" aria-label="Read More What is Magnetic Reconnection in the Magnetosphere?" class="kadence-post-image-inner-wrap"><img width="300" height="225" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Magnetic-Reconnection-0-300x225.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image" alt="Magnetic Reconnection" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Magnetic-Reconnection-0-300x225.jpg 300w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Magnetic-Reconnection-0-675x507.jpg 675w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Magnetic-Reconnection-0-425x319.jpg 425w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Magnetic-Reconnection-0-550x413.jpg 550w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Magnetic-Reconnection-0.jpg 678w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px"/></a></div></div></div><div class="kt-blocks-post-grid-item-inner"><header><h6 class="entry-title"><a href="https://earthhow.com/magnetic-reconnection/">What is Magnetic Reconnection in the Magnetosphere?</a></h6><div class="kt-blocks-post-top-meta"></div></header><div class="entry-content"></div><footer class="kt-blocks-post-footer"><div class="kt-blocks-post-footer-left"></div><div class="kt-blocks-post-footer-right"></div></footer></div></div></article></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></article> <div id="comments" class="comments-area"> <h2 class="comments-title">2 Comments</h2> <ol class="comment-list"> <li id="comment-39414" class="comment even thread-even depth-1"> <article id="div-comment-39414" class="comment-body"> <footer class="comment-meta"> <div class="comment-author vcard"> <b class="fn">Edmund Bahati</b> <span class="says">says:</span></div><div class="comment-metadata"> <a href="https://earthhow.com/mesosphere/#comment-39414"><time datetime="2024-09-04T08:04:51-06:00">September 4, 2024 at 8:04 am</time></a></div></footer> <div class="comment-content"> <p>In mesosphere temperature decreases with height</p></div></article> </li> <li id="comment-29157" class="comment odd alt thread-odd thread-alt depth-1"> <article id="div-comment-29157" class="comment-body"> <footer class="comment-meta"> <div class="comment-author vcard"> <b class="fn">Adam Emmanuel Prof</b> <span class="says">says:</span></div><div class="comment-metadata"> <a href="https://earthhow.com/mesosphere/#comment-29157"><time datetime="2024-02-16T15:05:56-06:00">February 16, 2024 at 3:05 pm</time></a></div></footer> <div class="comment-content"> <p>Really love the explanation. Everything is accurate.</p></div></article> </li> </ol> <div id="respond" class="comment-respond"> <h3 id="reply-title" class="comment-reply-title">Leave a Reply</h3><form action="https://earthhow.com/wp-comments-post.php" method="post" id="commentform" class="comment-form" novalidate><p class="comment-notes"><span id="email-notes">Your email address will not be published.</span> <span class="required-field-message">Required fields are marked <span class="required">*</span></span></p><p class="comment-form-comment comment-form-float-label"><textarea autocomplete="new-password" id="i477054932" name="i477054932" placeholder="Leave a comment..." cols="45" rows="8" maxlength="65525" aria-required="true" required="required"></textarea><textarea id="comment" aria-label="hp-comment" aria-hidden="true" name="comment" autocomplete="new-password" style="padding:0 !important;clip:rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px) !important;position:absolute !important;white-space:nowrap !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important;overflow:hidden !important;" tabindex="-1"></textarea><label class="float-label" for="comment">Comment <span class="required">*</span></label></p><div class="comment-input-wrap no-url-field"><p class="comment-form-author"><input aria-label="Name" id="author" name="author" type="text" placeholder="John Doe" value="" size="30" maxlength="245" aria-required='true' required='required' /><label class="float-label" for="author">Name <span class="required">*</span></label></p> <p class="comment-form-email"><input aria-label="Email" id="email" name="email" type="email" placeholder="john@example.com" value="" size="30" maxlength="100" aria-describedby="email-notes" aria-required='true' required='required' /><label class="float-label" for="email">Email <span class="required">*</span></label></p></div><p class="form-submit"><input name="submit" type="submit" id="submit" class="submit" value="Post Comment" /> <input type='hidden' name='comment_post_ID' value='9592' id='comment_post_ID' /> <input type='hidden' name='comment_parent' id='comment_parent' value='0' /> </p></form></div></div></div></main> <aside id="secondary" role="complementary" class="primary-sidebar widget-area sidebar-slug-sidebar-primary sidebar-link-style-normal"> <div class="sidebar-inner-wrap"></div></aside></div></div></div><footer id="colophon" class="site-footer" role="contentinfo"> <div class="site-footer-wrap"> <div class="site-top-footer-wrap site-footer-row-container site-footer-focus-item site-footer-row-layout-standard site-footer-row-tablet-layout-default site-footer-row-mobile-layout-default" data-section="kadence_customizer_footer_top"> <div class="site-footer-row-container-inner"> <div class="site-container"> <div class="site-top-footer-inner-wrap site-footer-row site-footer-row-columns-3 site-footer-row-column-layout-left-half site-footer-row-tablet-column-layout-left-half site-footer-row-mobile-column-layout-row ft-ro-dir-row ft-ro-collapse-normal ft-ro-t-dir-column ft-ro-m-dir-default ft-ro-lstyle-plain"> <div class="site-footer-top-section-1 site-footer-section footer-section-inner-items-1"> <div class="footer-widget-area widget-area site-footer-focus-item footer-widget3 content-align-default content-tablet-align-default content-mobile-align-default content-valign-default content-tablet-valign-default content-mobile-valign-default" data-section="sidebar-widgets-footer3"> <div class="footer-widget-area-inner site-info-inner"> <section id="text-8" class="widget widget_text"> <div class="textwidget"><p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-16201" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/EarthHow-Black-Logo-300x54.png" alt="EarthHow Logo" width="300" height="54" srcset="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/EarthHow-Black-Logo-300x54.png 300w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/EarthHow-Black-Logo-425x77.png 425w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/EarthHow-Black-Logo-140x25.png 140w, https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/EarthHow-Black-Logo.png 491w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px"/></p></div></section><section id="custom_html-13" class="widget_text widget widget_custom_html"><div class="textwidget custom-html-widget">Learn Earth Science <div style="clear:both; padding-bottom:10px;"></div></div></section><section id="custom_html-7" class="widget_text widget widget_custom_html"><div class="textwidget custom-html-widget"><a href="https://twitter.com/earth_how"><img class="aligncenter size-small_medium wp-image-15255" style="float:left; padding-right: 25px;" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/twitter-107x107.png" alt="" width="60" height="60"/></a><img class="alignleft size-small_medium wp-image-15256" src="https://earthhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/rss-107x107.png" alt="" width="35" height="35"/></div></section></div></div></div><div class="site-footer-top-section-2 site-footer-section footer-section-inner-items-1"> <div class="footer-widget-area widget-area site-footer-focus-item footer-widget1 content-align-left content-tablet-align-default content-mobile-align-default content-valign-default content-tablet-valign-default content-mobile-valign-default" data-section="sidebar-widgets-footer1"> <div class="footer-widget-area-inner site-info-inner"> <section id="custom_html-4" class="widget_text widget widget_custom_html"><h2 class="widget-title">CATEGORIES</h2><div class="textwidget custom-html-widget"><ul style="margin-left:0px;"> <li><a href="https://earthhow.com/category/atmosphere/">Atmosphere</a></li> <li><a href="https://earthhow.com/category/career/">Career</a></li> <li><a href="https://earthhow.com/category/geology/">Geology</a></li> <li><a href="https://earthhow.com/category/life-science/">Nature</a></li> <li><a href="https://earthhow.com/category/outer-space/">Space</a></li> <li><a href="https://earthhow.com/category/water-science/">Water</a></li> </ul></div></section></div></div></div><div class="site-footer-top-section-3 site-footer-section footer-section-inner-items-1"> <div class="footer-widget-area widget-area site-footer-focus-item footer-widget2 content-align-default content-tablet-align-default content-mobile-align-default content-valign-default content-tablet-valign-default content-mobile-valign-default" data-section="sidebar-widgets-footer2"> <div class="footer-widget-area-inner site-info-inner"> <section id="custom_html-5" class="widget_text widget widget_custom_html"><h2 class="widget-title">Features</h2><div class="textwidget custom-html-widget"><ul style="margin-left:0px;"> <li><a href="https://earthhow.com/articles/">Articles</a></li> <li><a href="https://earthhow.com/tag/infographic/">Infographics</a></li> <li><a href="https://earthhow.com/newsletter/">Newsletter</a></li> </ul></div></section></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="site-middle-footer-wrap site-footer-row-container site-footer-focus-item site-footer-row-layout-standard site-footer-row-tablet-layout-default site-footer-row-mobile-layout-default" data-section="kadence_customizer_footer_middle"> <div class="site-footer-row-container-inner"> <div class="site-container"> <div class="site-middle-footer-inner-wrap site-footer-row site-footer-row-columns-1 site-footer-row-column-layout-row site-footer-row-tablet-column-layout-default site-footer-row-mobile-column-layout-row ft-ro-dir-row ft-ro-collapse-normal ft-ro-t-dir-default ft-ro-m-dir-default ft-ro-lstyle-plain"> <div class="site-footer-middle-section-1 site-footer-section footer-section-inner-items-1"> <div class="footer-widget-area widget-area site-footer-focus-item footer-navigation-wrap content-align-center content-tablet-align-center content-mobile-align-default content-valign-default content-tablet-valign-default content-mobile-valign-default footer-navigation-layout-stretch-false" data-section="kadence_customizer_footer_navigation"> <div class="footer-widget-area-inner footer-navigation-inner"> <nav id="footer-navigation" class="footer-navigation" role="navigation" aria-label="Footer Navigation"> <div class="footer-menu-container"> <ul id="footer-menu" class="menu"><li id="menu-item-15577" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-15577"><a href="https://earthhow.com/about/">About</a></li> <li id="menu-item-15574" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page current_page_parent menu-item-15574"><a href="https://earthhow.com/articles/">Articles</a></li> <li id="menu-item-15578" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-15578"><a href="https://earthhow.com/contact/">Contact</a></li> <li id="menu-item-15579" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-15579"><a href="https://earthhow.com/how-to-cite/">How To Cite</a></li> <li id="menu-item-15575" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-15575"><a href="https://earthhow.com/privacy-policy/">Privacy Policy</a></li> <li id="menu-item-15576" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-15576"><a href="https://earthhow.com/terms-of-service/">Terms of Service</a></li> </ul></div></nav></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="site-bottom-footer-wrap site-footer-row-container site-footer-focus-item site-footer-row-layout-standard site-footer-row-tablet-layout-default site-footer-row-mobile-layout-default" data-section="kadence_customizer_footer_bottom"> <div class="site-footer-row-container-inner"> <div class="site-container"> <div class="site-bottom-footer-inner-wrap site-footer-row site-footer-row-columns-1 site-footer-row-column-layout-row site-footer-row-tablet-column-layout-default site-footer-row-mobile-column-layout-row ft-ro-dir-row ft-ro-collapse-normal ft-ro-t-dir-default ft-ro-m-dir-default ft-ro-lstyle-plain"> <div class="site-footer-bottom-section-1 site-footer-section footer-section-inner-items-1"> <div class="footer-widget-area site-info site-footer-focus-item content-align-center content-tablet-align-center content-mobile-align-default content-valign-default content-tablet-valign-default content-mobile-valign-default" data-section="kadence_customizer_footer_html"> <div class="footer-widget-area-inner site-info-inner"> <div class="footer-html inner-link-style-plain"><div class="footer-html-inner"><p><span class="customize-control-description">© 2024 Earth How</span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></footer></div><div id="mobile-drawer" class="popup-drawer popup-drawer-layout-sidepanel popup-drawer-animation-fade popup-drawer-side-left" data-drawer-target-string="#mobile-drawer"> <div class="drawer-overlay" data-drawer-target-string="#mobile-drawer"></div><div class="drawer-inner"> <div class="drawer-header"> <button class="menu-toggle-close drawer-toggle" aria-label="Close menu" data-toggle-target="#mobile-drawer" data-toggle-body-class="showing-popup-drawer-from-left" aria-expanded="false" data-set-focus=".menu-toggle-open" > <span class="toggle-close-bar"></span> <span class="toggle-close-bar"></span> </button></div><div class="drawer-content mobile-drawer-content content-align-left content-valign-top"> <div class="site-header-item site-header-focus-item site-header-item-mobile-navigation mobile-navigation-layout-stretch-false" data-section="kadence_customizer_mobile_navigation"> <nav id="mobile-site-navigation" class="mobile-navigation drawer-navigation drawer-navigation-parent-toggle-false" role="navigation" aria-label="Primary Mobile Navigation"> <div class="mobile-menu-container drawer-menu-container"> <ul id="mobile-menu" class="menu has-collapse-sub-nav"><li class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-17132"><a href="https://earthhow.com/atmosphere/">Atmosphere</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-17131"><a href="https://earthhow.com/biology/">Biology</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-17130"><a href="https://earthhow.com/career/">Career</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-17129"><a href="https://earthhow.com/geology/">Geology</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-17128"><a href="https://earthhow.com/space/">Space</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-17127"><a href="https://earthhow.com/water/">Water</a></li> </ul></div></nav></div></div></div></div><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="//earthhow.com/wp-content/cache/wpfc-minified/20wy7k05/445gh.css" media="all"/> <div id="search-drawer" class="popup-drawer popup-drawer-layout-fullwidth" data-drawer-target-string="#search-drawer"> <div class="drawer-overlay" data-drawer-target-string="#search-drawer"></div><div class="drawer-inner"> <div class="drawer-header"> <button class="search-toggle-close drawer-toggle" aria-label="Close search" data-toggle-target="#search-drawer" data-toggle-body-class="showing-popup-drawer-from-full" aria-expanded="false" data-set-focus=".search-toggle-open" > <span class="kadence-svg-iconset"><svg class="kadence-svg-icon kadence-close-svg" fill="currentColor" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><title>Toggle Menu Close</title><path d="M5.293 6.707l5.293 5.293-5.293 5.293c-0.391 0.391-0.391 1.024 0 1.414s1.024 0.391 1.414 0l5.293-5.293 5.293 5.293c0.391 0.391 1.024 0.391 1.414 0s0.391-1.024 0-1.414l-5.293-5.293 5.293-5.293c0.391-0.391 0.391-1.024 0-1.414s-1.024-0.391-1.414 0l-5.293 5.293-5.293-5.293c-0.391-0.391-1.024-0.391-1.414 0s-0.391 1.024 0 1.414z"></path> </svg></span> </button></div><div class="drawer-content"> <form role="search" method="get" class="search-form" action="https://earthhow.com/"> <label> <span class="screen-reader-text">Search for:</span> <input type="search" class="search-field" placeholder="Search …" value="" name="s" /> </label> <input type="submit" class="search-submit" value="Search" /> <div class="kadence-search-icon-wrap"><span class="kadence-svg-iconset"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="kadence-svg-icon kadence-search-svg" fill="currentColor" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="26" height="28" viewBox="0 0 26 28"><title>Search</title><path d="M18 13c0-3.859-3.141-7-7-7s-7 3.141-7 7 3.141 7 7 7 7-3.141 7-7zM26 26c0 1.094-0.906 2-2 2-0.531 0-1.047-0.219-1.406-0.594l-5.359-5.344c-1.828 1.266-4.016 1.937-6.234 1.937-6.078 0-11-4.922-11-11s4.922-11 11-11 11 4.922 11 11c0 2.219-0.672 4.406-1.937 6.234l5.359 5.359c0.359 0.359 0.578 0.875 0.578 1.406z"></path> </svg></span></div></form></div></div></div><noscript id="wpfc-google-fonts"><link rel='stylesheet' id='kadence-fonts-css' href='https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Inter:regular,800,700,600&display=swap' media='all'/> </noscript> <script id="kadence-navigation-js-extra">var kadenceConfig={"screenReader":{"expand":"Child menu","expandOf":"Child menu of","collapse":"Child menu","collapseOf":"Child menu of"},"breakPoints":{"desktop":"1024","tablet":768},"scrollOffset":"0"};</script> <script>document.documentElement.classList.remove('no-js');</script> <script data-noptimize>document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute("id", "aa295ac7854b17589daf51c23e97f411");document.getElementById("i477054932").setAttribute("id", "comment");</script> <script>document.documentElement.style.setProperty('--scrollbar-offset', window.innerWidth - document.documentElement.clientWidth + 'px');</script> <script defer src='//earthhow.com/wp-content/cache/wpfc-minified/13nwc9nw/445g5.js'></script> <script>document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded',function(){function wpfcgl(){var wgh=document.querySelector('noscript#wpfc-google-fonts').innerText, wgha=wgh.match(/<link[^\>]+>/gi);for(i=0;i<wgha.length;i++){var wrpr=document.createElement('div');wrpr.innerHTML=wgha[i];document.body.appendChild(wrpr.firstChild);}}wpfcgl();});</script> </body> </html>