ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENA AND STRUCTURES

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afterglow

1. A broad glowing arc, sometimes seen high in the western sky at twilight, caused by fine particles of dust scattering light in the upper atmosphere.
   
      • ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENA AND STRUCTURES



2. Lingering radiation, also called postluminescence, that remains after an event such as a gamma-ray burst (which has an X-ray afterglow) or the Big Bang (the afterglow of which is the cosmic microwave background radiation). The term is also used as an alternative name for phosphorescence.