Inside the Jet Stream Giving Rise to the Jet Stream Page 2 of 15 | Next page So, now we have a non-rotating Earth with an atmosphere that isn't moving relative to the Earth's surface. Of course, the atmosphere won't stay still for long. The sun heats the entire Earth, but where the sun is more directly overhead it heats the Earth and atmosphere more. This warmed air over the tropics rises until it hits the tropopause, the layer of atmosphere that separates the troposphere from the stratosphere. At the equator this is about 11 miles high. Previous page | Next page Solve the Mystery of STENDEC | Mysterious Plane Crashes Reading the Wreckage | Inside the Jet Stream | Resources Transcript | Site Map | Vanished! Home Editor's Picks | Previous Sites | Join Us/E-mail | TV/Web Schedule About NOVA | Teachers | Site Map | Shop | Jobs | Search | To print PBS Online | NOVA Online | WGBH © | Updated January 2001