Open AccessObservations of hydrogen Lyman α emission from missile trails
Author(s) -
Hicks G. T.,
Chubb T. A.,
Meier R. R.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/1999ja900029
Subject(s) - atmosphere (unit) , missile , hydrogen , environmental science , spacecraft , satellite , astrobiology , ultraviolet , atmospheric sciences , physics , radiation , meteorology , astronomy , optics , aerospace engineering , quantum mechanics , engineering
The Naval Research Laboratory far ultraviolet experiment on board the OGO 4 satellite accidentally detected hydrogen Lyman α emission following the passage of missiles through the upper atmosphere. The deposition of hydrogenous exhaust products above 100 km results in a local enhancement of hydrogen, which resonantly scatters Lyman α radiation from the Sun and from the geocorona, and produces a far ultraviolet contrail. The observed local enhancement of radiation was as much as 37% above the natural background. All event detections took place at time intervals of 6 min to 10 hours following the passage of a missile or spacecraft. There was no opportunity to observe prompt emissions. We describe the observations of this unusual phenomenon and the implications for hydrogen production mechanisms.