Stratosphere Stratosphere The stratosphere () is the second major layer of Earth's atmosphere, just above the troposphere, and below the mesosphere. The stratosphere is stratified in temperature, with warmer layers higher and cooler layers closer to the Earth; this increase of temperature with altitude is a result of the absorption of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation by the ozone layer. This is in contrast to the troposphere, near the Earth's surface, where temperature decreases with altitude. The border between the troposphere and stratosphere, the tropopause, marks where this temperature inversion begins. Near the equator, the stratosphere starts at as high as ,
S/2004 S 6 dissipate on a timescale of years or months. Notably, an imaging sequence covering an entire orbital period at 4 km resolution taken on November 15, 2004 (soon after 's discovery) failed to recover the object, while it has been seen again later. The lighting conditions in 's part of the orbit were different during these two observations, however, with the discovery being made when the region was strongly backlit by the sun. A suggested resolution of the absence in November is that 's visibility is primarily due to a diffuse cloud of fine dust that is much brighter in forward