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by Santaanacanyon on October 14th, 2004

Santaanacanyon

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At what altitude does our atmosphere end and outer space begin?

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  • by Brett P on December 18th, 2004

    Brett P

    There are a few recognized "strata" to our atmosphere: Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere and Ionosphere. I wasn't able to find an agreed-upon definition for where outer space begins, though a number of sources seem to claim that outer space begins at 100 km (62 miles).

    There is a great diagram at http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/earth/atmosphere.html if you'd like to see the thickness of the various layers of our atmosphere. What it essentially shows it that the Troposphere extends approx. 14 k, above the surface, then there is a 4 k, thick Tropopause. The Stratosphere tops out at about 50 km above the surface, then another 40 km of Mesosphere, followed by about another 300 km of Ionosphere.

    Different sources may show different measurement, but ultimately it depends on what you consider outer space.

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  • by Glenn Blaylock on October 16th, 2004

    Glenn Blaylock

    There really is no meaningful answer to this question. As altitude increases, the atmosphere gets thinner and thinner until it merges with the interplanetary medium. Space is not completely empty. There is always some gas and dust around. So, we would have to talk about minute variations in concentrations of these particles in order to define the upper limit of the atmosphere and, when you get right down to it, these variation would really be meaningless.

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  • by dr james on March 26th, 2008

    dr james

    some say 100k ft and some say 100km, some say 100 miles.

    i guess it depends on when you run out of air holding your breath

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