afterglow

/ˌæftərˈgloʊ/

/ˈɑftəgləʊ/

Other forms: afterglows

An afterglow is a strip of rose-colored light in the sky that you sometimes see after the sun goes down. You should look for the afterglow after you watch the sunset.

While an afterglow is actually caused by dust in the atmosphere, the radiant, glowing effect in the sky is much more beautiful than this makes it sound. You can also use the word afterglow in a figurative way, to describe the way you feel after something really wonderful happens to you: "I basked in the afterglow that followed my successful opening night on Broadway."

Definitions of afterglow

1. noun

   a glow sometimes seen in the sky after sunset
   type of:

   atmospheric phenomenon

   a physical phenomenon associated with the atmosphere
2. noun

   the pleasure of remembering some pleasant event
   “he basked in the afterglow of his victory”

   type of:

   pleasantness

   the feeling caused by agreeable stimuli; one pole of a continuum of states of feeling