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It is convenient to separate the atmospheric regions according to the two temperature minima at an altitude of about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) (the tropopause) and at about 85 kilometres (53 mi) (the mesopause) (Figure 1). The thermosphere (or the upper atmosphere) is the height region above 85 kilometres (53 mi), while the region between the ...
The temperature of the thermopause could range from nearly absolute zero to 987.547 °C (1,810 °F). Below this, the atmosphere is defined to be active [ clarification needed ] on the insolation received, due to the increased presence of heavier gases such as monatomic oxygen.
Following the tropopause is the stratosphere. This layer extends from the tropopause to the stratopause, which is located at an altitude of about 50 km (31 mi). Temperatures remain constant with height from the tropopause to an altitude of 20 km (12 mi), after which they start to increase with height.
The troposphere contains the boundary layer, and ranges in height from an average of 9 km (5.6 mi; 30,000 ft) at the poles, to 17 km (11 mi; 56,000 ft) at the Equator. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] In the absence of inversions and not considering moisture , the temperature lapse rate for this layer is 6.5 °C per kilometer, on average, according to the U.S ...
The mesosphere ranges from 50 km to 85 km and is the layer wherein most meteors are incinerated before reaching the surface. The thermosphere extends from an altitude of 85 km to the base of the exosphere at 690 km and contains the ionosphere, where solar radiation ionizes the atmosphere. The density of the ionosphere is greater at short ...
The F 2 layer exists from about 220 to 800 km (140 to 500 miles) above the surface of the Earth. The F 2 layer is the principal reflecting layer for HF radio communications during both day and night. The horizon-limited distance for one-hop F 2 propagation is usually around 4,000 km (2,500 miles). The F 2 layer has about 10 6 e/cm 3. However ...
Haley also cited other technical considerations for that altitude, as it was approximately the altitude limit for an airbreathing jet engine based on current technology. In the same 1959 paper, Haley also referred to 295,000 feet (55.9 mi; 90 km) as the "von Kármán Line", which was the lowest altitude at which free-radical atomic oxygen occurred.
The energy required to reach Earth orbital velocity at an altitude of 600 km (370 mi) is about 36 MJ/kg, which is six times the energy needed merely to climb to the corresponding altitude. [93] The escape velocity required to pull free of Earth's gravitational field altogether and move into interplanetary space is about 11.2 km/s (25,100 mph).