Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Nikki who loved to play outside. She would spend hours running around in the park, climbing trees, and playing with her friends. One day, Nikki was playing in the park when she saw a bird flying overhead. She wondered how the bird could fly so high up in the sky.
Nikki’s father told her that the bird was flying in the atmosphere. The atmosphere is the layer of air that surrounds the Earth. It is made up of different layers, each with its own unique properties.
The closest layer to the Earth is the troposphere. This is the layer where we live and where all of the weather happens. The troposphere gets warmer the closer it is to the ground, because the ground absorbs heat from the sun.
The next layer up is the stratosphere. The stratosphere is much colder than the troposphere. This is because the ozone layer, which protects us from harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun, is found in the stratosphere.
The third layer is the mesosphere. The mesosphere is even colder than the stratosphere. The air in the mesosphere is very thin, and most meteors burn up when they enter this layer.
The fourth layer is the thermosphere. The thermosphere is the hottest layer of the atmosphere. The air in the thermosphere is very thin, but the temperature can reach up to 1100 degrees Celsius.
The fifth and final layer is the exosphere. The exosphere is the outermost layer of the atmosphere. It is so thin that it is almost like space.
Nikki was amazed to learn about the different layers of the atmosphere. She realized that the atmosphere is like a blanket that protects us from the harsh conditions of space. She was also grateful for the birds, which can fly so high up in the atmosphere and see all of the amazing things that we cannot.
Short stories for kids 