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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

airglow

That meant some reflected moonlight from clouds in the lower atmosphere was present, but not enough to overwhelm the much fainter airglow signal.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 3, 2026

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

Scientists have been studying this "airglow" layer for more than 40 years, and astronomers were cursing it long before that.

From Time Magazine Archive

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