be clear from this calculation that reducing the view field size can make fainter objects more detectable against the airglow; unfortunately, adaptive optics techniques that reduce the diameter of the view field of an Earth-based telescope by an order of magnitude only as yet work in the infrared, where the sky is much brighter. A space telescope isn't restricted by the view field, since it is not affected by airglow. Induced airglow Scientific experiments have been conducted to induce airglow by directing high-power radio emissions at the Earth's ionosphere. These radiowaves interact with the ionosphere to induce faint but visible optical light at specific wavelengths under certain conditions. The effect is also observable in the radio frequency band, using ionosondes. Experimental observation SwissCube-1 is a Swiss satellite operated by Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. The spacecraft is a single unit CubeSat, which was designed to conduct research into airglow within the Earth's atmosphere and to develop technology for future spacecraft. Though SwissCube-1 is rather small (10 x 10 x 10 cm) and weighs less than 1 kg, it carries a small telescope for obtaining images of the airglow. The first SwissCube-1 image came down on 18 February 2011 and was quite black with some thermal noise on it. The first airglow image came down on 3 March 2011. This image has been converted to the human optical range (green) from its near-infrared measurement. This image provides a measurement of the intensity of the airglow phenomenon in the near-infrared. The range measured is from 500 to 61400 photons, with a resolution of 500 photons. Observation of airglow on other planets The Venus Express spacecraft contains an infrared sensor which has detected near-IR emissions from the upper atmosphere of Venus. The emissions come from nitric oxide (NO) and from molecular oxygen. Scientists had previously determined in laboratory testing that during NO production, ultraviolet emissions and near-IR emissions were produced. The UV radiation had been detected in the atmosphere, but until this mission, the atmosphere-produced near-IR emissions were only theoretical. Gallery See also Earthlight Ionized air glow Optical phenomena Polar aurora Zodiacal light References External links Description and Images Sky Brightness Information for Roque de los Muchachos Observatory Night-side Glow Detected at Mars Space.com interview Stereoscopic Observations of HAARP Glows from HIPAS, Poker Flat, and Nenana, Alaska by R.F. Wuerker et al. An improved signal-to-noise ratio of a cool imaging photon detector for