Airglow: Difference between revisions
From Glossary of Meteorology
No edit summary |
m (Rewrite with Template:Term and clean up) |
||
(One intermediate revision by the same user not shown) | |||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Term | |||
|Display title=airglow | |||
|Definitions={{Definition | |||
{{ | |Num=1 | ||
|Meaning=(''Also called'' light-of-the-night-sky, night-sky light, night-sky luminescence, permanent aurora.) The quasi-steady [[radiant]] emission from the [[upper atmosphere]] over middle and low latitudes, to be distinguished from the sporadic [[emission]] of auroras that occur over high latitudes. | |||
|Explanation=Airglow is a photochemical [[luminescence]] (or [[chemiluminescence]]) arising from chemical reactions in the upper atmosphere. Many of these reactions leave molecules and atoms in excited states from which they can radiate at certain well-defined wavelengths. Emissions from molecular [[oxygen]] O<sub>2</sub>, atomic oxygen O, [[sodium]] Na, and the [[hydroxyl radical]] OH are especially prominent, and measurements of airglow intensity by spectrometric techniques have provided a great deal of information about upper-atmospheric dynamics and chemistry. | |||
}} | |||
= | }} | ||
Latest revision as of 22:35, 27 March 2024
(Also called light-of-the-night-sky, night-sky light, night-sky luminescence, permanent aurora.) The quasi-steady radiant emission from the upper atmosphere over middle and low latitudes, to be distinguished from the sporadic emission of auroras that occur over high latitudes.
Airglow is a photochemical luminescence (or chemiluminescence) arising from chemical reactions in the upper atmosphere. Many of these reactions leave molecules and atoms in excited states from which they can radiate at certain well-defined wavelengths. Emissions from molecular oxygen O2, atomic oxygen O, sodium Na, and the hydroxyl radical OH are especially prominent, and measurements of airglow intensity by spectrometric techniques have provided a great deal of information about upper-atmospheric dynamics and chemistry.