Vibrant Orange Airglow Envelops Earth and an Astronaut Snaps a Photo

While speeding more than 250 miles above Australia, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station snapped a photo of a vibrant phenomenon that helps scientists learn about the connections between space weather and Earth's weather.

The phenomenon is known as airglow, which is made up of scattered bands of light that can stretch anywhere from 50 miles to 400 miles into Earth's atmosphere, according to NASA.

The colorful scene from orbit occurs when molecules, generally that of nitrogen and oxygen, are energized by ultraviolet radiation from sunlight. Atoms in the lower atmosphere then bump into each other to in order to shed excess energy absorbed by the sunlight.

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Unlike auroras, airglow is visible all over the globe, brightest about 10-15 degrees above the horizon, according to Atmospheric Optics. While airglow contains strong coloring, its invisible to the naked eye because its light is below the threshold of color perception.

Airglow allows a look into the workings of the highest layers of our atmosphere, helping scientists learn about the movement of particles near the boundary between Earth and space, including how space weather and weather in our atmosphere interact with one another.

Typically, airglow can be seen in deep red, green — which can be seen at the very highest level of the airglow shown above — or orange hues, though a faint blue shade has been seen before.