Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2022 November 20
The featured image shows a dark field with a photographer
lit in red imaging a night sky tinged with green airglow and
decorated with clouds that appear collectively like a giant
spiral.
Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Airglow Ripples over Tibet
Image Credit & Copyright: Jeff Dai

Explanation: Why would the sky look like a giant target? Airglow. Following a giant thunderstorm over Bangladesh in late April, giant circular ripples of glowing air appeared over Tibet, China, as pictured here. The unusual pattern is created by atmospheric gravity waves, waves of alternating air pressure that can grow with height as the air thins, in this case about 90-kilometres up. Unlike aurorae powered by collisions with energetic charged particles and seen at high latitudes, airglow is due to chemiluminescence, the production of light in a chemical reaction. More typically seen near the horizon, airglow keeps the night sky from ever being completely dark.

Tomorrow's picture: butterfly sky


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