Ionosphere Graphics

PhotographHow many of these can you find in this photograph: an aurora, airglow, one of the oldest impact craters on the Earth, snow and ice, stars, city lights, and part of the International Space Station? Most of these can be identified by their distinctive colors. The aurora here appears green at the bottom, red at the top, and is visible across the left of image. Airglow appears orange and can be seen hovering over the curve of the Earth. The circular Manicouagan Crater in Canada, about 100 kilometers across and 200 million years old, is visible toward the lower right and is covered in white snow and ice. Stars, light in color, dot the dark background of space. City lights appear a bright yellow and dot the landscape. Finally, across the top, part of the International Space Station (ISS) appears mostly tan. This image was taken from the ISS in 2012.Credit: NASA PhotographIf you could circle the Earth aboard the International Space Station, what might you see? Some amazing vistas, one of which was captured in this breathtaking picture in mid-2015. First, visible at the top, are parts of the space station itself including solar panels. Just below the station is the band of our Milky Way Galaxy, glowing with the combined light of billions of stars, but dimmed in patches by filaments of dark dust. The band of red light just below the Milky Way is airglow -- Earth's atmosphere excited by the Sun and glowing in specific colors of light. Green airglow is visible below the red. Of course that's our Earth below its air, with the terminator between day and night visible near the horizon. As clouds speckle the planet, illumination from a bright lightning bolt is seen toward the lower right. Between work assignments, astronauts from all over the Earth have been enjoying vistas like this from the space station since the year 2000.Credit: NASA/JSC/ESRS PhotographSince November 2000, people have been living continuously on the International Space Station. To celebrate humanity's 15th anniversary off planet Earth, consider this snapshot from space of our galaxy and our home world posing together beyond the orbital outpost. The Milky Way stretches below the curve of Earth's limb in the scene that also records a faint red, extended airglow. The galaxy's central bulge appears with starfields cut by dark rifts of obscuring interstellar dust. The picture was taken by Astronaut Scott Kelly on August 9, 2015, the 135th day of his one-year mission in space.Credit: NASA/Scott Kelly PhotographA composite photograph of star trails captured from the International Space Station. Bands of red and green airglow are also visible. Credit: NASA/Don Pettit PhotographA composite photograph of star trails captured from the International Space Station. Bands of red and green airglow are also visible. Credit: NASA/Don Pettit PhotographA composite photograph of star trails captured from the International Space Station. Bands of red and green airglow are also visible. Credit: NASA/Don Pettit PhotographA composite photograph of star trails captured from the International Space Station. Bands of red and green airglow are also visible. Credit: NASA/Don Pettit VideoLovejoy Comet over Southern Hemisphere Credit: NASA VideoAfrica and Mideast at Night Credit: NASA VideoNorthern Africa and Mideast (Evening)Credit: NASA VideoBangkok to North PacificCredit: NASA VideoCity Lights over Middle EastCredit: NASA VideoWestern Quebec to Southern OceanCredit: NASA VideoAurora Borealis over Eastern North AmericaCredit: NASA VideoWestern Europe to IndiaCredit: NASA VideoEastern Europe to Southeastern AsiaCredit: NASA VideoHalfway across the WorldCredit: NASA VideoInternational Space Station Near Aurora BorealisCredit: NASA VideoAurora Borealis over Western EuropeCredit: NASA VideoLightning over AsiaCredit: NASA VideoOver the Mediterranean SeaCredit: NASA VideoThe Milky Way and Storms over AfricaCredit: NASA VideoMilky Way on the HorizonCredit: NASA VideoRed and green swaths in the atmosphere, known as airglow, are seen in this video of Earth’s limb shot from the International Space Station. Credit: NASA Airglow occurs when atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere, excited by sunlight, emit light in order to shed their excess energy. The phenomenon is similar to auroras, but where auroras are driven by high-energy particles originating from the solar wind, airglow is sparked by day-to-day solar radiation. Airglow carries information on the upper atmosphere’s temperature, density, and composition, but it also helps us trace how particles move through the region itself. Vast, high-altitude winds sweep through the ionosphere, pushing its contents around the globe — and airglow’s subtle dance follows their lead, highlighting global patterns. Related pages

Banner for online use featuring ICON observatory, airglow and globe.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith Banner for online use featuring ICON observatory and airglow.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith Banner for online use featuring ICON observatory.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith ICON observes airglow from low-Earth orbit.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith ICON observes airglow from low-Earth orbit.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith ICON on a transparent background.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith ICON infographic and banner.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith Flier part 1/2ICON overview flier for media and outreach.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith Flier part 2/2ICON overview flier for media and outreach.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith The Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, is a low-Earth orbiting satellite that will give us new information about how Earth’s atmosphere interacts with near-Earth space — a give-and-take that plays a major role in the safety of our satellites and reliability of communications signals. Specifically, ICON investigates the connections between the neutral atmosphere — which extends from here near the surface to far above us, at the edge of space — and the electrically charged part of the atmosphere, called the ionosphere. The particles of the ionosphere carry electrical charge that can disrupt communications signals, cause satellites in low-Earth orbit to become electrically charged, and, in extreme cases, cause power outages on the ground. Related pages