Mg{sup +} and other metallic emissions observed in the thermosphere
- PhotoMetrics, Inc., Woburn, MA (United States)
- USAF Phillips Lab., Hanscom AFB, MA (United States). Spacecraft Interactions Branch
- Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States). Lunar and Planetary Observatory
- Radex, Inc., Bedford, MA (United States)
Limb observations of UV dayglow emissions from 80 to 300 km tangent heights were made in December, 1992, using the GLO instrument, which flew on STS-53 as a Hitchhiker-G experiment. STS-53 was at 330 km altitude and had an orbit inclination of 57{degree}. The orbit placed the shuttle near the terminator for the entire mission, resulting in a unique set of observations. The GLO instrument consisted of 12 imagers and 9 spectrographs on an Az/El gimbal system. The data was obtained over 6 days of the mission. Emissions from Mg{sup +} and Ca{sup +} were observed, as were emissions from the neutral metallic species Mg and Na. The ultimate source of the metals is ablation of meteors; however, the spatial distribution of the emissions is controlled by upper mesospheric and thermospheric winds and, in the case of the ions, by the electromagnetic fields of the ionosphere. The observed Mg{sup +} emission was the brightest of the metal emissions, and was observed near the poles and around the geomagnetic equator near sunset. The polar emissions were short-lived and intense, indicative of auroral activity. The equatorial emissions were more continuous, with several luminous patches propagating poleward over the period of several orbits. The instrumentation will be described, as will spatial and temporal variations of the metal emissions with emphasis on the metal ions. These observations will be compared to previous observations of thermospheric metallic species.
- OSTI ID:
- 227955
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-940723-; ISBN 0-8194-1590-1; TRN: IM9622%%232
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Annual meeting of the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, San Diego, CA (United States), 24-29 Jul 1994; Other Information: PBD: 1994; Related Information: Is Part Of Optical spectroscopic techniques and instrumentation for atmospheric and space research; Wang, J.; Hays, P.B. [eds.]; PB: 662 p.; Proceedings/SPIE, Volume 2266
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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