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Accession Number:
ADA327164
Title:
Spectral Signature of the Earth's Night Airglow Observed from the Space Shuttle.
Descriptive Note:
Doctoral thesis,
Corporate Author:
AIR FORCE INST OF TECH WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB OH
Report Date:
1997-07-10
Pagination or Media Count:
221.0
Abstract:
GLO was designed at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory of the University of Arizona to observe auroral and airglow emissions, and recorded midlatitude airglow data near equinox during Space Shuttle mission STS-69 in September 1995. GLO observations from the shuttle recorded the night airglow layer seen edge on at the Earths limb. These observations from orbit exhibit a fundamentally different picture of the night airglow compared to observations from the ground. GLO data also represent the first simultaneous optical measurements of airglow emissions over the spectral range from 1150 to 9000 A, showing global emission variations in the night sky. Intensity variations are not correlated among emitting species, implying greater dynamism and more complex chemical interactions in the airglow than previously assumed. Although other researchers have described observations of organized waves and tides in the night airglow, these prior observations are sporadic or averaged over long time periods. The night sky intensity variations recorded by GLO do not exhibit any obvious relationship to atmospheric tides.
Distribution Statement:
APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
