Analysis of thermospheric dayglow spectra from the Spacelab 1 shuttle mission

Lower thermospheric airglow spectra in the wavelength range of 1840 A to 2280 A were analyzed. These data were obtained by the Spacelab 1 shuttle mission in November, 1983. The analysis of the seven spectra was accomplished by comparison of the data with synthetically calculated spectra for the gamma, delta, and epsilon band emissions of nitric oxide. The tangent ray heights of the measured spectra varied in two kilometer increments from 96 km to 108 km. The strengths of 31 of the most prominent 7, 6, and e band emissions were independently adjusted to achieve the best fits to the data. All of the major features in the data were identified and gave conclusive evidence of the existence of c band emissions. By fitting the double bandhead feature of the emissions, the atmospheric temperature was determined for the first time from the NO emissions and compared with the temperature profile predicted by the MSIS—83 model. The Frank—Condon factors for the v" progression (v'=0) of the nitric oxide e band were measured from the data and compared with theoretical calculations. The fluorescence efficiency of the 6 bands was determined to be 0.32 ± 0.05 by fitting the 6 (0,1) emission feature. Finally, a discrepancy between the observed and calculated relative intensities of the two sub—bands for the 7 and 1 bands was found.http://archive.org/details/analysisofthermo00bossLieutenant, United States NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited