Pictured above is an unusually intense red airglow captured with a long exposure in Southwest China. The airglow is due to chemiluminescence which is the production of light through chemical excitation. Although is looks something like the Northern Lights, this phenomenon can actually be seen all around the globe. The chemical energy necessary to produce the glow comes from the Sun in the form of ultraviolet radiation. I chose this photo because it relates to what we are currently studying in terms of the Sun and excited atoms, and also because it is beautiful. I mean, come on. Look at those mountains.
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