Airglow

atmosphere · night sky · light

Night sky glows softly. Even on the darkest night with no moon or stars visible, the sky still gives off a tiny bit of light. This happens because gases high up in our atmosphere are gently glowing on their own.

Self-illuminated gases. The glow comes from gases in the atmosphere that produce their own light, without needing energy from the sun or magnetic fields. These gases release light naturally, like a tiny, gentle nighttime lantern.

Not an aurora. Airglow is different from auroras, those colorful dancing lights that happen near Earth's poles. Airglow happens everywhere, every night, and it's much fainter and steady.

Stars still shine brightest. Airglow is so faint that starlight and other light sources are much brighter, so you don't really notice it when you look up. But scientists can measure it with special instruments.

Always happening. The atmosphere glows the same way every night, no matter what the sun or magnetic field is doing. It's a constant, reliable glow that's simply part of how our sky works.