Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2005
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005agufmsa53b1174s&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2005, abstract #SA53B-1174
Physics
0310 Airglow And Aurora, 5210 Planetary Atmospheres, Clouds, And Hazes (0343), 5408 Aurorae And Airglow, 6296 Extra-Solar Planets
Scientific paper
It has previously been proposed [Akasofu, 1999] that observation of the O(1S - 1D) green line from the atmospheres of extra-solar planets might be a marker for habitability. Guidance on this question is available within our own solar system. The green line is a dominant feature in the visible terrestrial nightglow, and the ultimate origin of its mesospheric emission is the three-body recombination of oxygen atoms. Until recently, it was believed that the green line was not a feature of the nightglows of the CO2 planets, Venus and Mars. It is now known that Venus at times shows green line emission with an intensity equal to terrestrial values [Slanger et al., 2001]. Furthermore, the intensity is quite variable, as is true for the much stronger O2( a-X) 1.27 μ emission. Recent observations of the Mars nightglow [Bertaux et al., 2005] give ambiguous results in the region of the O(1S-3P) line at 297.2 nm, but the same line in the dayglow is very strong, as evidenced in earlier Mariner results [Barth et al., 1971], and from the recent Mars Express data [F. Leblanc, private communication]. The O(1D-3P) 630 nm red line is a feature associated with Io, where dissociation of SO2 is a presumed source [Scherb et al., 1998]. Thus, observation of the oxygen green/red lines in the atmospheres of extrasolar planets provides insufficient information to reach conclusions about a habitable environment. Such detection would only indicate that there are oxygen-containing molecules present. Determination of an O2 column depth, by Fraunhofer A-band absorption, would be much more conclusive. Akasofu, S.-I., EOS, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, 80, 397, 1999. Barth, C.A., C.W. Hord, J.B. Pearce, K.K. Kelly, G.P. Anderson, and A.I. Stewart, Mariner 6 and 7 Ultraviolet Spectrometer Experiment: Upper Atmosphere Data, Journal of Geophysical Research, 76, 2213-2227, 1971. Bertaux, J.-L., F. Leblanc, S. Perrier, E. Quemerais, O. Korablev, E. Dimarellis, A. Reberac, F. Forget, P.C. Simon, S.A. Stern, and B. Sandel, Nightglow in the Upper Atmosphere of Mars and Implications for Atmospheric Transport, Science, 307, 566-569, 2005. Scherb, F., R.J. Oliversen, F.L. Roesler, J. R. C. Woodward, J. Corliss, M. Fred, and W.H. Smyth, Recent Ground-Based Observations of OI 6300Å Emission from Io., EOS, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, 79(17), S201, 1998. Slanger, T.G., P.C. Cosby, D.L. Huestis, and T.A. Bida, Discovery of the Atomic Oxygen Green Line in the Venus Night Airglow, Science, 291, 463-465, 2001.
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