Excitation of N2 Lyman-Birge-Hopfield bands emission by low earth orbiting spacecraft

Details Excitation of N2 Lyman-Birge-Hopfield bands emission by low earth orbiting spacecraft Excitation of N2 Lyman-Birge-Hopfield bands emission by low earth orbiting spacecraft

Mar 1988

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1988georl..15..241k&link_type=abstract

Geophysical Research Letters (ISSN 0094-8276), vol. 15, March 1988, p. 241-244. USAF-supported research.

Physics

9

Earth Orbital Environments, Nitrogen, Spacecraft Glow, Spectral Bands, Spectral Energy Distribution, Explorer 12 Satellite, Spacelab

Scientific paper

The spectral distributions in the artefactual Lyman-Birge-Hopfield bands observed from the S3-4 satellite and Spacelab 1 are shown to be consistent with excitative recombination of ground-state N atoms catalyzed by spacecraft and instrument surfaces exposed to the atmosphere. This heterogeneous (and most probably Langmuir-Hinshelwood) reaction is analogous to the homogeneous reactions that produce the well-known VUV afterglow of active nitrogen. Promoting/interfering surface processes (perhaps involving conditioning) and undocumented systematic changes in vehicle orientation are among the possible causes of the strong dependence of the measured nadir system intensities on the ambient density of N(S-4).

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Excitation of N2 Lyman-Birge-Hopfield bands emission by low earth orbiting spacecraft 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 Excitation of N2 Lyman-Birge-Hopfield bands emission by low earth orbiting spacecraft, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Excitation of N2 Lyman-Birge-Hopfield bands emission by low earth orbiting spacecraft will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1674020