Can the ionosphere store energy

What provides energy to the ionosphere during the day?

During the day, X-rays and UV light from the Sun continuously provides the energy that knocks electrons free from atoms and molecules, producing a continuous supply of ions and free electrons. The ionosphere is very different in the daytime versus night.

What is the ionosphere?

The ionosphere is a region in Earth's atmosphere that contains a relatively large number of electrically charged atoms and molecules. High-energy X-rays and ultraviolet (UV) light from the Sun constantly collide with gas molecules and atoms in Earth's upper atmosphere, creating these charged particles.

Why does the ionosphere change?

The ionosphere changes due to its formation by the Sun’s energy. It's constantly changing from Earth’s day side to night side. When night falls, the ionosphere thins out as previously ionized particles relax and recombine back into neutral particles.

What does the ionosphere react to?

Scientists from NASA and three universities have presented new discoveries about the way heat and energy move and manifest in the ionosphere, a region of Earth’s atmosphere that reacts to changes from both space above and Earth below.

How is the ionosphere different in the daytime versus nighttime?

The ionosphere is very different in the daytime versus night. During the day, X-rays and UV light from the Sun continuously provide the energy that knocks electrons free from atoms and molecules, producing a continuous supply of ions and free electrons. At night, this energy source is absent.

What happens to the ionosphere at night?

When night falls, the ionosphere thins out as previously ionized particles relax and recombine back into neutral particles. However, there are also more unpredictable changes that make it hard to know exactly what the ionosphere will be like at a given time.