2006-09-04 23:26:56 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
Actually it does get hotter, ALOT hotter, but you have to get to an altitude of about 110 km before it starts getting hotter than it would be on the ground.
Here's a great picture that shows a graph of temperature vs. altitude.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Atmosphere_model.png
The reason it initially starts getting colder is because the air is becoming less and less dense. The lower density of air at higher altitudes means it has more freedom to expand, and when gasses expand, they cool down. Closer to the ground, the air is sort of "crunched" and compressed. When gasses are compressed, they heat up. Eventually you get high enough to where the certain parts of solar heat such as ultraviolet light and heat itself are not filtered out by the air below, so the temperature keeps going up and up.
2006-09-04 23:40:09 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The sun is 92 million miles away, so a the change of a few miles of atmosphere won't make a difference. As you rise the atmosphere gets thinner and heat is lost to the "icy cold of space".
If you were in a spaceship and exposed to the light from the sun, it would get much warmer then if you were in shadow.
2006-09-05 06:31:47 · answer #2 · answered by WheeeeWhaaaaa 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The Earth is surrounded by a blanket of air, which we call the atmosphere. It reaches over 560 kilometers (348 miles) from the surface of the Earth, so we are only able to see what occurs fairly close to the ground. Early attempts at studying the nature of the atmosphere used clues from the weather, the beautiful multi-colored sunsets and sunrises, and the twinkling of stars. With the use of sensitive instruments from space, we are able to get a better view of the functioning of our atmosphere.
Life on Earth is supported by the atmosphere, solar energy, and our planet's magnetic fields. The atmosphere absorbs the energy from the Sun, recycles water and other chemicals, and works with the electrical and magnetic forces to provide a moderate climate. The atmosphere also protects us from high-energy radiation and the frigid vacuum of space.
The envelope of gas surrounding the Earth changes from the ground up. Four distinct layers have been identified using thermal characteristics (temperature changes), chemical composition, movement, and density.
2006-09-05 06:30:01 · answer #3 · answered by cutie gurl23 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
heat is produced when the suns rays strike the earths ground - heat actually moves from the ground up and so it is warmer at ground level than in the upper atmosphere. the hot air rises up to the lower pressures of the upper atmosphere and becomes cooler - the process of convection. without this circulation of hot and cold air there would be no way for heat to escape from the earth
2006-09-05 07:09:32 · answer #4 · answered by Showaddywaddy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually it is hotter nearer Earth because the sun is reflected back from the surface of our planet.
2006-09-05 06:53:22 · answer #5 · answered by E=MC2 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well if you actually got up into space, you would find that the side of you facing the sun would be red hot and the side facing away, freezing cold!
2006-09-05 06:34:56 · answer #6 · answered by Jason 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The atmosphere is thinner the higher you go.
2006-09-05 07:22:50 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The atmosphere is thinner, so there are fewer particles to heat up.
2006-09-05 06:55:00 · answer #8 · answered by helen g 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋