Noah
McClannahan
APOD 9/1/2014
This picture is talking
about the sky appeared to be full of color after a giant storm over Bangladesh.
The unusual pattern that was created in the photo was due to atmospheric
gravity waves. This created an aurora. Aurora’s are powered by collision with
energetic particles seen at high altitudes. Airglow is due to chemiluminescence. Chemiluminescence is the emission of light as the result
of a chemical reaction. Airglow (also called nightglow) is the very weak emission of light by a planetary atmosphere. Airglow keeps the night sky from ever being completely
dark. With all these reactions happening its creates what the people of Tibet
and china saw in the sky that night.
The ripples are truly amazing! The chemiluminescence is incredibly fascinating to behold. Despite airglow stopping us from ever having truly dark skies, it is well worth it to watch these spectacles. Yay space!
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