| A | B |
|---|
| atmosphere | The gaseous envelope surrounding the earth. |
| troposphere | The first layer above the surface and contains half of the Earth's The first layer above the surface and contains half of the Earth's The first layer above the surface and contains half of the Earth's atmosphere. Weather occurs in this layer. |
| stratosphere | The region of the upper atmosphere characterized by little change in temperature as you go up. |
| mesosphere | The portion of the atmosphere above the earth's surface, characterized by temperatures that decrease as you go up. |
| thermosphere | The region of the upper atmosphere in which temperature increase as you go up. |
| ionosphere | Part of the thermosphere but very important. This area makes long distance radio communication possible by reflecting radio waves back to Earth. |
| exosphere | Where the atmosphere merges into space. This is the upper limit of our atmosphere and extremely thin. |
| ozone layer | A region of the upper atmosphere containing a high concentration of ozone that absorbs solar radiation. |
| meteorology | the science dealing with the atmosphere and its phenomena, including weather and climate. |
| aurora borealis | a display of colored lights in the sky, also called northern lights, caused by the interaction of particles from the sun with the upper atmosphere. |
