In which layer do meteors burn up?

In which layer do meteors burn up?

• A. Troposphere
• B. Stratosphere
• C. Mesosphere
• D. Exosphere

Answer: (C)

When a meteoroid enters Earth’s atmosphere, friction with the air heats and ablates it, turning surface material into vapor and creating the bright streak we see as a meteor. This rapid heating happens most effectively where the air has enough density to cause strong drag but isn’t so dense that the object slows and disintegrates too early. That balance occurs in the mesosphere, roughly 75–100 kilometers above the surface, where ablation is most intense and meteors typically burn up. Beyond that layer, the air is too thin for the same rapid heating to occur, while below it the meteor would already have been slowed and destroyed earlier. So the layer where meteors burn up is the mesosphere.

When a meteoroid enters Earth’s atmosphere, friction with the air heats and ablates it, turning surface material into vapor and creating the bright streak we see as a meteor. This rapid heating happens most effectively where the air has enough density to cause strong drag but isn’t so dense that the object slows and disintegrates too early. That balance occurs in the mesosphere, roughly 75–100 kilometers above the surface, where ablation is most intense and meteors typically burn up.

Beyond that layer, the air is too thin for the same rapid heating to occur, while below it the meteor would already have been slowed and destroyed earlier. So the layer where meteors burn up is the mesosphere.