James Jarvis, age 12, of Houston,

Where is the ionosphere?

The earth’s atmosphere has often been compared to a blanket. The high layer of air called the ionosphere can be called an electric blanket. It is composed of ions, or electrified particles. Together, these ions of the ionosphere form a sounding board which reflects back radio waves to the ground,

The ionosphere begins where the stratosphere leaves off about fifty miles above our heads. Up here the air is very thin, or rare. But what it lacks in density, the ionosphere makes up in depth. It is a layer about 600 miles deep, extending about 650 miles above the entire globe.