What is ozone?

Ozone is like a super team of oxygen molecules working together to protect us from the sun’s strong rays.

Imagine you have a bunch of friends who love to play tag. Each friend represents an oxygen atom, and when they all join hands in a group of three, they form ozone, it's like a special trio that loves to block things out.

Most of the time, oxygen is found as pairs, two atoms holding hands, and we call that oxygen gas. But up high in the sky, some of these oxygen pairs get extra excited and join another oxygen atom to make ozone. This happens mostly in the stratosphere, which is like a special layer of the atmosphere that’s far above us.

When sunlight hits this ozone layer, it helps block some of the harmful parts of the sun's rays, kind of like a shield that keeps our skin safe from getting too burned. Without ozone, we’d be like cookies left in the oven too long, overcooked and not so good!

Sometimes, things like pollution can mess up this super team, but that’s another story for later.