MESOPHERE [ˈmezəˌsfir, ˈmēzəˌsfir]
NOUN
mesosphere (noun)
See also: Mesosphere
Definition of mesosphere. : the part of the earth's atmosphere between the stratosphere and the thermosphere in which temperature decreases with altitude to the atmosphere's absolute minimum. Other Words from mesosphere Example Sentences Learn More about mesosphere.
To get to the mesosphere, you'd have to travel 31 miles straight up from the ground you're standing on. You might think scientists know everything about our atmosphere, but the mesosphere is a hard layer to explore.
Like the other atmospheric layers, it does not have a fixed height but starts at an altitude of approximately 65 km (40 miles), extending up to a height of roughly 85 km (53 miles). It is also the coldest of the five layers with its upper boundary, called the mesosphere, reaching temperatures as low as -90° Celsius (-130° Fahrenheit).
Odd electrical discharges akin to lightning, called "sprites" and "ELVES", occasionally appear in the mesosphere dozens of kilometers (miles) above thunderclouds in the troposphere below. The stratosphere and mesosphere together are sometimes referred to as the middle atmosphere.