NOTE: an HST Search for Magnesium in the Lunar Atmosphere

Details NOTE: an HST Search for Magnesium in the Lunar Atmosphere NOTE: an HST Search for Magnesium in the Lunar Atmosphere

Jun 1997

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997icar..127..523s&link_type=abstract

Icarus, Volume 127, Issue 2, pp. 523-526.

Other

14

Scientific paper

In October 1996 we used the Hubble Space Telescope's Faint Object Spectrograph to make the first-ever mid-ultraviolet spectroscopic search for emissions from the lunar atmosphere. This spectrum revealed no emission lines, despite the fact that strong resonance emission transitions from the Al, Si, and Mg neutrals and from Mg^+ occur in the bandpass. We derive 5sigma upper limits on the atmospheric abundances of each of these species and on OH (0-0) emission. The most constraining upper limit we obtained was for Mg, which we find to be depleted by a factor of at least 9 relative to model predictions using the known abundance of Mg in the lunar regolith. These findings reinforce the negative findings of our previous, ground-based search for neutral atoms in the lunar atmosphere (B. C. Flynn and S. A. Stern, 1996, Icarus 124, 530-536) and suggest that Na and K may be rather unique in their ability to readily sputter from the surface as atomic neutrals. Other species may sputter away as ions or in molecular fragments.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

NOTE: an HST Search for Magnesium in the Lunar Atmosphere does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with NOTE: an HST Search for Magnesium in the Lunar Atmosphere, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and NOTE: an HST Search for Magnesium in the Lunar Atmosphere will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1474833