The ionosphere forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere. It has practical importance because it influences, for example, radio propagation on Earth. The temperature of the thermosphere gradually increases with height. The ionosphere also plays a role in our everyday communications and navigation systems. Radio and GPS signals travel through this layer of the atmosphere, or rely on bouncing off the ionosphere to reach their destinations. In both cases, changes in the ionosphere's density and composition can disrupt these signals. The thermosphere is the Earth's atmosphere layer directly above the mesosphere and below the exosphere. The temperature increases with altitude rapidly in this layer due to the absorption of vast amounts of heat from the sunlight. On days when solar flares or radiation is high, the ionosphere is very active and the thus the temperature of it is greater. Since the temperature of the thermosphere fluctuates due to the Sun's radiation, that can cause the area of the ionosphere to expand. Temperature variations range from 200 Kelvin to 500 Kelvin. The ionosphere is too high up to affect the weather far below in the troposphere. It's more the other way around. Lightning discharges in the troposphere sometimes send vertical columns called sprites and jets up into the ionosphere. The thermosphere is the layer in the Earth's atmosphere directly above the mesosphere and below the exosphere. Within this layer of the atmosphere, ultraviolet radiation causes photoionization/ photodissociation of molecules, creating ions; the thermosphere thus constitutes the larger part of the ionosphere. The ionosphere is responsible for the high temperature of the thermosphere because of the solar radiation it absorbs while the exosphere is cold due to the distance of the gas molecules making it up. The ionosphere is a critical link in the chain of Sun-Earth interactions. This region is what makes radio communications possible. This is the upper limit of our atmosphere. It extends from the top of the thermosphere up to 10,000 km (6,200 mi).

On days when solar flares or radiation is high, the ionosphere is very active and the thus the temperature of it is greater. Since the temperature of the thermosphere fluctuates due to the Sun's radiation, that can cause the area of the ionosphere to expand. Temperature variations range from 200 Kelvin to 500 Kelvin. While still extremely thin, the gases of the thermosphere become increasingly denser as one descends toward the earth. As such, incoming high energy ultraviolet and x-ray radiation from the sun begins to be absorbed by the molecules in this layer and causes a large temperature increase. Ionization processes release energy which heat up the upper atmosphere. So temperature increases with height in the ionosphere region to the extent that by 150-200km, the Earth's atmosphere is extremely hot compared to surface temperatures. The ionosphere also plays a role in our everyday communications and navigation systems. Radio and GPS signals travel through this layer of the atmosphere, or rely on bouncing off the ionosphere to reach their destinations. In both cases, changes in the ionosphere's density and composition can disrupt these signals. Temperature decreases with height, reaching a minimum average value of -90 ºC at the top of the layer. The upper part of the mesosphere contains part of the ionosphere, an electrified region. The thermosphere lies between the exosphere and the mesosphere. “Thermo” means heat, and the temperature in this layer can reach up to 4,500 degrees Fahrenheit. The ionosphere is responsible for the high temperature of the thermosphere because of the solar radiation it absorbs while the exosphere is cold due to the distance of the gas molecules making it up. The ions in the ionosphere is affected by the magnetic fields of forces while the exosphere is hardly affected by it. Jicamarca has shown us that in the ionosphere something as small as an unusual wind pattern is enough to trigger a geomagnetic storm.” In fact, storms are going on constantly in the ionosphere some launched by solar activity and some created by the small fluctuations in the prevailing conditions.

Temperature increases as you gain altitude in the stratosphere and the thermosphere. Temperature decreases as you gain altitude in the troposphere and mesosphere. As the altitude increases, the air temperature decreases. The Mesosphere, like the troposphere layer, has a decrease in temperature with altitude because of the decreases in the density of the air molecules. Thermosphere: As the altitude increases, the air temperature increases. Thermospheric temperatures increase with altitude as a result of the absorption of highly energetic solar radiation by the small amount of residual oxygen present. Temperatures in the thermosphere are highly dependent on solar activity. The mesosphere decreases in temperature with altitude. The mesosphere ranges in temperatures from -2.5 to -90 degrees Celsius. The reason the temperature decreases with altitude is because the Earth's surface is a source of heat; heat from its geothermal gradient, and absorbed solar radiation that is reemitted. Within the mesosphere, temperature decreases with increasing height, due to decreasing solar heating and increasing cooling by CO2 radiative emission. The top of the mesosphere, called the mesopause, is the coldest part of Earth's atmosphere. Temperature decreases with height, reaching a minimum average value of -90 ºC at the top of the layer. The upper part of the mesosphere contains part of the ionosphere, an electrified region. In the ionosphere, radiation from the sun is so powerful that it ionizes, or breaks electrons free from different atoms present in the atmosphere. Due to fluxes in solar radiation, temperatures in the ionosphere vary from 200 Kelvin (or -99 degrees Fahrenheit) to 500K (or 440 degrees Fahrenheit). Most of the ionosphere is to be found in the outer reaches of the atmosphere, the thermosphere, where the neutral temperature Temperature increases with altitude from a minimum of 160–190 K near the mesopause, which is at about 85 km in the terrestrial atmosphere.