airglow

American  

[air-gloh] / ˈɛərˌgloʊ /

noun

1. a dim light from the upper atmosphere caused by emissions from atoms and molecules ionized by solar radiation: observed at night nightglow, during the day dayglow, and at twilight twilight glow, with each having slightly different characteristics.

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airglow British  

/ ˈɛəˌɡləʊ /

noun

1. the faint light from the upper atmosphere in the night sky, esp in low latitudes

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airglow Scientific  

/ âr′glō′ /

1. A faint photochemical luminescence in the upper atmosphere caused by the collision of x-rays and charged particles from the Sun with atoms and molecules, especially of oxygen, sodium, and the hydroxyl radical (OH). Airglow is strongest over low and middle latitudes.

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Etymology

Origin of airglow

First recorded in 1950–55; air ¹ + glow

Example Sentences

“There were clouds everywhere. The airglow is emitting upward, and sometimes it makes this really diffuse, widespread veil of light,” Miller explains.

From Scientific American • Jul. 23, 2022

Editing Editing your astrophotos is important for bringing out the faint details of the night sky, such as airglow.

From The Verge • Jan. 26, 2022

In order for those faint galaxies to stand out from the sky’s airglow, astronomers already needed long exposures on the biggest telescopes in the darkest sites available.

From Science Magazine • Mar. 28, 2021

Trapped below Earth's ocean of air, even the largest ground-based observatories will be stymied by starlight-warping turbulence and by airglow, faint light emitted by atmospheric chemical reactions that can corrupt delicate observations.

From Scientific American • Jun. 21, 2015

Astronauts John Glenn and Scott Carpenter both looked down on the airglow layer from their soaring Mercury capsules and found it as bright from that vantage point as the earth under a quarter moon.

From Time Magazine Archive