Earth's atmosphere has no wall at the edge of space - it thins out gradually across four named layers, and two different agencies draw the "edge of space" line at two different altitudes. Drag the altitude probe from the ground up to 650 km to see which layer you are in and how far you sit from the Karman line, the US boundary, and the ISS.
Published figures: troposphere 0-12 km; stratosphere 12-50 km; mesosphere 50-85 km; thermosphere 85-about 600 km. Karman line (FAI) 100 km; US boundary (NASA/FAA/USAF) 80 km; ISS orbit about 400 km; meteors ablate about 75-100 km; aurora typically 100-300 km.
Drag to orbit and scroll or pinch to zoom. Drag the altitude slider, jump to a named boundary button, or toggle any layer, boundary ring, or the meteor and aurora zone on and off.
Karman Line & Atmosphere Layers 3D Explorer
Drag the altitude probe on this Earth model from the ground up to 650 km and watch it move through the four named atmosphere layers - the same layers a real rocket or high-altitude balloon crosses on the way up. A readout below the scene names the layer you are in and how far you sit from three real "edge of space" markers.
Two agencies do not agree on where space begins. The Karman line, adopted by the FAI in 1960, is the most widely cited figure at 100 km. NASA, the FAA, and the US Air Force have used 80 km since the 1960s X-15 rocket-plane program - a figure closer to physicist Theodore von Karman's own original calculation of about 83.8 km. Both boundaries are marked as separate toggleable rings so you can see the roughly 20 km gap between them.
- Drag the altitude slider from 0 to 650 km, or jump straight to a named boundary
- Toggle each of the four named layers on or off independently
- Toggle the Karman line, the US boundary, the ISS orbit ring, and the meteor and aurora zone
- Read the current layer, nearest boundaries, and a full figures table in the facts panel
- Drag to orbit, scroll or pinch to zoom
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
| Layer or marker | Published altitude |
|---|---|
| Troposphere | 0 to about 12 km (varies about 8-14.5 km by latitude and season) |
| Stratosphere | about 12 to about 50 km (contains the ozone layer) |
| Mesosphere | about 50 to about 85 km (most meteors ablate here) |
| Thermosphere | about 85 to about 600 km (NASA; no sharp upper edge) |
| Karman line (FAI, adopted 1960) | 100 km |
| US boundary (NASA/FAA/USAF) | 80 km (about 50 miles) |
| ISS orbital altitude | about 400 km (varies roughly 370-460 km) |
| Meteor ablation zone | about 75-100 km |
| Aurora (typical range) | about 100-300 km |
The gap between the two boundary definitions has real consequences: eight X-15 pilots earned military astronaut wings for crossing 80 km, but three of them never reached the FAI's 100 km line. In 2018, astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell analyzed low-orbit satellite tracking data and argued 80 km is the more physically meaningful boundary, since no satellite has ever sustained an orbit below about 70 km - the FAI has said it is reviewing a change but had not adopted it as of this writing.
For a gas giant's cloud-deck structure, see the Gas Giant Atmosphere Explorer. This page instead names Earth's own atmosphere layers and pins real objects - the ISS, meteors, aurora, and the two competing space-boundary definitions - to their real altitudes, a different reader task from a sunlit-side vector globe like the Earth 3D Globe, which does not model layer altitudes at all.
Everything renders on your device with WebGL. The 3D engine loads once (about 0.7 MB) and is cached.
This is an educational approximation, not a live atmospheric density model - the layer boundaries and marker altitudes are the published figures above, but every shell's radial thickness is stretched with a square-root scale so the thin lower layers stay visible next to the much larger thermosphere; drawn to true linear scale, the whole 650 km atmosphere would be a sliver about 10 percent of Earth's 6,371 km radius.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does space officially begin?
There is no single official answer. The FAI (Federation Aeronautique Internationale) uses the Karman line at 100 km, adopted in 1960 as a rounded figure. NASA, the FAA, and the US Air Force have instead used 80 km since the 1960s - closer to physicist Theodore von Karman's own original calculation of about 83.8 km.
What are Earth's four main atmosphere layers?
From the ground up: the troposphere (0-12 km, where weather happens), the stratosphere (12-50 km, home to the ozone layer), the mesosphere (50-85 km, where most meteors burn up), and the thermosphere (85 km to about 600 km, home to aurora and most satellites including the ISS).
How high does the International Space Station orbit?
About 400 km, though it varies roughly 370-460 km as the station is periodically reboosted. That places it well within the thermosphere, above both the Karman line and the US boundary.
At what altitude do meteors burn up?
Most meteors ablate (burn up from atmospheric friction) at roughly 75-100 km, in the mesosphere and the base of the thermosphere - the "shooting stars" you see are this altitude range glowing.
How high does aurora appear?
Most visible aurora light appears about 100-300 km up, in the thermosphere. NOAA and NASA note rare extremes as low as about 80 km and as high as about 500 km during strong geomagnetic storms.
Is this a real atmospheric density simulation?
No. It is an educational explorer: the layer boundaries and marker altitudes are the published figures, but every shell's radial thickness is stretched with a square-root scale for visibility - the real 650 km atmosphere is only about 10 percent of Earth's radius, far too thin to see if drawn to true scale.