4D Ionosphere Tour

Filed Under Software

NASA has released a 4D live model of the earth’s ionosphere, where you are able to virtually fly through the ionized gas layer that encircles the border between the earth and space.

The ionosphere is the last layer of the earth’s atmosphere before entering space and stretches from 50-miles to 500-miles above the earth’s surface; it forms the inner edge of the magnetosphere and is located in the thermosphere. The ionosphere is created by solar radiation ionizing, or breaking apart, molecules and atoms in the earth’s upper atmosphere, resulting in a layer of electrons and ions.

The ionosphere is important to modern day communication, as radio signals are often bounced off of the lowest level of the ionosphere and reflected back to earth in order to reach greater distances; also, GPS singles from satellites must pass through the ionosphere before reaching receivers on
the ground or in planes, and atmospheric disturbances, caused by the sun, can cause errors up to 100-meters in location determination.

Download NASA’s 4D Ionosphere Model now!