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I keep seeing people call that green aurora 'airglow' in photos from last month
It's not the same thing at all. Airglow is a constant, faint emission from the upper atmosphere, while auroras are caused by solar particles hitting it. I learned this from a planetarium talk in Chicago. Has anyone else noticed this mix-up getting more common?
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oliviagrant1mo ago
That planetarium talk sounds like it was a good one.
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bettywood21d ago
It took me a while to wrap my head around that idea too. I always thought of the stars as a live snapshot, not a delayed broadcast. Now I can't help but feel like every time I look up, I'm reading history written in light.
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cooper.phoenix1mo agoProlific Poster
The presenter mentioned how the light from the Orion Nebula we see today actually left around 1,300 years ago. It makes you realize we are looking at the past, not the present sky. That changes the whole feeling of stargazing for me. It is less about what is out there now and more about receiving ancient messages.
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