Watch the ‘Airglow’ of Space Wind as Spotted Over Missouri

It's a very surreal experience if you're ever fortunate enough to experience it. There's new video that shows what's referred to as the 'airglow' of space wind as it was spotted crossing the skies over Missouri.

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Dan Bush of Missouri Skies (who is in my opinion a must-follow on YouTube) just captured this time-lapse video of 'airglow'. I first saw it shared in a conversation on the Missouri sub-Reddit. Here's how NASA defines it:

Airglow occurs when atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere, excited by sunlight, emit light to shed their excess energy. Or, it can happen when atoms and molecules that have been ionized by sunlight collide with and capture a free electron. In both cases, they eject a particle of light — called a photon — in order to relax again.

It almost looks like the Northern Lights aka Aurora Borealis.

It's one of the only visual clues you'll get where your eyes can see where Earth's atmosphere meets space. Fascinating. This inspired me to dig even deeper (or perhaps look much higher?) where I learned about a NASA probe designed to explore this phenomena.

Seeing the upper atmospheric wind is something I wish was visible to the naked eye more often. The light pollution of civilization makes it difficult to see what's over our heads as clearly as most of us would like unfortunately.

This is yet another reason why you really should follow Dan Bush and Missouri Skies on YouTube as he frequently shares interesting sky stuff like this.