Vibrational populations of near-ultraviolet O^sub 2^ band systems in the night airglow

Observations of the limb night airglow spectrum from 250 to 475 nm, emitted from the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere, are compared with model spectra. Data from the Arizona GLO-1 imaging spectrograph and the OSIRIS spectrograph are combined to form the observed mean airglow spectrum; a tabul...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCanadian journal of physics Vol. 90; no. 8; p. 741
Main Authors Gattinger, RL, McDade, IC, Broadfoot, AL, Evans, WFJ, Stegman, J, Llewellyn, EJ
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Ottawa Canadian Science Publishing NRC Research Press 01.08.2012
Subjects
Astrophysics
Atmosphere
Oxygen
Scientific imaging
Spectrum analysis
Ultraviolet radiation
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Summary:Observations of the limb night airglow spectrum from 250 to 475 nm, emitted from the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere, are compared with model spectra. Data from the Arizona GLO-1 imaging spectrograph and the OSIRIS spectrograph are combined to form the observed mean airglow spectrum; a tabulated version of this spectrum is included. Model spectra of the individual O2 Herzberg I, II, and III, Chamberlain, and Slanger band systems are combined to simulate the observed mean spectrum. Franck-Condon relative band intensities are used to form a series of basis functions for the upper vibrational levels in each band system. These functions are fitted to the observed airglow spectrum with a least-squares method, the relative vibrational populations are derived and discussed. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0008-4204
1208-6045