{"id":264391,"date":"2023-06-28T18:42:42","date_gmt":"2023-06-28T16:42:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=264391"},"modified":"2023-06-28T18:58:23","modified_gmt":"2023-06-28T16:58:23","slug":"solar-max-is-boosting-airglow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=264391","title":{"rendered":"Solar Max is Boosting\u00a0Airglow"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Spaceweather.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By DR.TONY PHILLIPS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

June 26, 2023: <\/strong>There was no geomagnetic storm on June 22nd. Nevertheless, the sky turned green over rural Colorado. Aaron Watson photographed the dramatic display from the West Elk Mountains:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI woke up around midnight to crystal clear skies,\u201d says Watson. \u201cI noticed some wispy rays and, at first, I thought maybe it was noctilucent clouds. Upon closer inspection there was an intense green glow rippling across the entire sky.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although this looks a lot like aurora borealis, it is something completely different: airglow<\/a>. Cameras with nighttime exposure settings can pick up the faint emission from anywhere on Earth<\/a> even when geomagnetic activity is low. All that\u2019s required is a very dark sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAirglow is produced by photochemistry in Earth\u2019s upper atmosphere,\u201d says space scientist Scott Bailey of Virginia Tech. \u201cAnd it is very interesting photochemistry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explains: There is a layer of air about 95 km above Earth\u2019s surface where two forms of oxygen mix together: Molecular oxygen (O2, the kind of oxygen we breathe) and atomic oxygen (O, a reactive species that is toxic to people). Both species are abundant in a wafer-thin zone only 10 km deep. O2 collides with O, exciting the atoms, which later relax by emitting green photons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI photographed it, too!\u201d reports Christie Allen, who lives in southern Colorado. \u201cGreen rays were emerging from the Sangre de Cristo mountain range to our east.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt first I thought they were auroras,\u201d she says, \u201cbut now I know it was airglow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although airglow does not require solar activity, there is a strong link to the solar cycle. As long ago as 1935, Lord Rayleigh realized<\/a> that airglow peaks during years around Solar Maximum. Modern studies (e.g., 2011<\/a>, 2015<\/a> and 2022<\/a>) have confirmed the effect. Airglow is up to 40% brighter when the sun is most active.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSolar activity boosts airglow by heating the upper atmosphere,\u201d says Bailey. \u201cWarmer air causes more collisions and, thus, more green light to emerge. This is why green airglow tends to be most intense around Solar Max.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means *now* is the time to look for airglow. Solar Cycle 25 is intensifying with Maximum perhaps less than a year away<\/a>. Get away from city lights, wait for the Moon to set, and point your camera at the midnight sky. It might not be as dark as you think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story was brought to you by Spaceweather.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That means *now* is the time to look for airglow. Solar Cycle 25 is intensifying with Maximum perhaps\u00a0less than a year away. Get away from city lights, wait for the Moon to set, and point your camera at the midnight sky. It might not be as dark as you think.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":264398,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691819904,691820596,691820595],"class_list":{"0":"post-264391","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-earths-upper-atmosphere","9":"tag-photochemistry","10":"tag-solar-max","12":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0Aaron-Watson-DSC_2189-2_1687465568.jpg?fit=6016%2C4016&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-16Mn","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":371147,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=371147","url_meta":{"origin":264391,"position":0},"title":"Interesting: Unveiling the mysterious \u201csprite fireworks\u201d over the Himalayas","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"21\/03\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Have you ever heard of\u2014or even seen\u2014red lightning? 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