airglow
[air-gloh]
- 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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Origin of airglow
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
airglow
- the faint light from the upper atmosphere in the night sky, esp in low latitudes
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
airglow
[âr′glō′]
- 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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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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