The mesosphere is the layer of Earth's atmosphere directly above the stratosphere and below the thermosphere. Some material from meteors lingers in the mesosphere, causing a relatively high concentration of iron and other metal atoms. Very strange, high altitude clouds called "noctilucent clouds" or "polar mesospheric clouds" sometimes form in the mesosphere near the poles. The mesosphere is a transition zone between the stratosphere and thermosphere, containing 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen along with 1% other chemical species like iron from meteors.