The rotational speed of the upper atmosphere determined from changes in satellite orbits

Physics

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Scientific paper

Because the atmosphere rotates, a satellite is subjected to a small lateral aerodynamic force which has the effect of slightly changing the inclination of the orbit to the equator. For an eastbound satellite the inclination decreases, sometimes by as much as 0.1°, and the amount of the change is a measure of the angular velocity of the atmosphere at heights near that of the satellite's perigee. In this paper the angular velocity of the upper atmosphere is determined by examining the changes in orbital inclination of all suitable satellites. Although the orbital information is imperfect, useful values were obtained from 9 satellites, covering the years 1958-63, heights of 200-300 km and latitudes from 0-60°. If the angular velocity of the atmosphere is expressed as Λ times the angular velocity of the Earth, the values of Λ obtained all exceed 1, ranging between 1.1 and 1.9, with a mean of 1.46 and rms scatter of 0.28. This corresponds to a mean west-to-east wind speed in mid latitudes of over 100 m/sec. The results thus indicate that the upper atmosphere at 200-300 km height rotates faster than the Earth. A possible explanation is suggested.

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