What is the ionosphere?

The ionosphere is a layer of the Earth's atmosphere, which is ionized by the solar wind. The solar wind exists because the corona, which is the farthest layer of the solar atmosphere, is extremely hot and wide. Because it is so wide, it is able to abandon the gravity of the sun constant flow of hydrogen and helium called solar wind or plasma. The solar wind flows from the sun and towards the ground where it affects the magnetosphere, the ionosphere of the Earth and the magnetic field.

The ionosphere contains plasma and consists of three layers. The lowest is called the D-regery, reaching 47-59 miles (75-95 km) above the ground surface and does not contain many ions. Another layer is called an e-region, reaching from 59-93 miles (95-150 km) and contains a slightly higher concentration of ions. The F-region contains the highest ion density and reaches 93 to 621 miles above the surface.

This layer of atmosphere is important for everyday life, because it allows us to share the AM frequency radio waves much further than we could without it. A relatively known side effectBut it is that when the sun released a particularly strong solar eruption, AM radio can experience outages. However, the ionosphere does not affect FM radio waves because they have higher frequencies. Therefore, FM frequency waves cannot achieve in terms of frequency waves.

scientists study the ionosphere mostly by observing aurorae , which are naturally occurring displays of bright colors in the sky near the North and South poles. Aurorae occurs because there is no magnetosphere at the poles. Because there is no magnetosphere, ions can enter the ionosphere and excite the plasma it contains, which then releases energy as visible light. The frequency and intensity of Aurorae is influenced by the occurrence of solar flares and intensity wind.

ionosphere was discovered gradually through a number of scientific discoveries and observations starting in 1864, when James Clerk MaxwellHe lived the theory of creating electromagnetic waves. In 1901, Marconi used this theory to transmit radio waves, forms of electromagnetic waves, through the Atlantic Ocean. He did it because he knew that because he could not see the reception station, the radio waves had to bounce off part of the atmosphere, allowing them to travel further than expected. In 1902, Oliver Heaviside and Arthur Kennelly learned of Marconi's finding about radio spread and concluded that the atmosphere had a reflective layer. However, the layer was not actually named the ionosphere until 1926, when physicist Robert Watson-watt wrote paper about it.