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One of the discoveries of Voyager 2 at Uranus was a phenomenon called "electroglow", which as I understand it is related to charged particles interacting with the atmosphere that cause the emission of ultraviolet radiation. What I am not clear on is how this process is different to the production of aurorae. Is there some clear difference between the two processes that allows them to be distinguished?

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Aurorae are caused by charged particles (usually electrons) being drawn into the polar atmosphere by the planet's magnetic field.

Airglow is caused by just photons interacting with the atmosphere.

Electroglow requires both electrons and photons.

Source: The Free Library (article is under express copyright, see the paragraph that starts "Voyager 2")

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  • $\begingroup$ I understand that the copyright dissuade one from even a brief quote, that still makes this a link-only answer. Without going offsite, I still do not know what electroglow is nor why it requires both electrons and photons. You can certainly paraphrase what your source says without violating any copyright. $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Commented Mar 1, 2021 at 3:54

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