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Glite Dictionary
🌆 Artificial night light 🌌 Natural night brightness
skyglow

skyglow

7.7
Natural light in the night sky from the air or distant stars, not from city lights
  • noun
  • /ˈskaɪˌɡloʊ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : luminosidad natural del cielo
  • During the aurora, the skyglow was especially bright and colorful above the horizon.

Examples

  • The skyglow over the mountains was breathtaking.

  • The faint skyglow made it possible to see the outlines of the mountains at midnight.

  • Astronomers prefer remote locations to avoid any interference with the natural skyglow.

  • Can you see the skyglow tonight?

  • On clear nights, the skyglow reveals the beautiful colors of the Milky Way despite the urban lights.

  • Astronomers study the skyglow to understand the effects of atmospheric conditions on celestial visibility.

  • The lack of skyglow in remote areas allows for stunning views of the stars and planets overhead.

Synonyms

airglow
vsskyglow
  • Specialized
8.1

A faint natural light in the night sky from chemicals reacting high in the atmosphere

is broader, including both atmospheric and astronomical natural sources
nightglow
vsskyglow
  • Specialized
7.5

A faint light in the night sky caused by chemical reactions in the upper atmosphere

is the broader name for natural night brightness from many sources

Antonyms

dimness
4 3.4

Low light that makes it hard to see

obscurity
1 6.9

Dark or dim so things are hard to see

How Bright

dawn
386 1.0
moonlit
9 2.1
skyglow
  • Specialized
7.7
starlight
26 2.1
dark
456 1.0

Surface Forms

skyglow singular
skyglows plural

Morphology

skyglow = sky + glow (transparent) = sky + glow

The sense denotes the sky's brightness from natural atmospheric or astronomical sources and is a literal 'sky' + 'glow' compound, so it is inferable from the parts.

Etymology

Skyglow comes from the parts sky 'the space above us' and glow 'soft light', and it can also mean the natural light you see in the night sky from the air or from events like the northern lights. That's why it sometimes refers to natural sky brightness, not the light from cities.