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Infra‐red rocket glow: A mechanistic analysis
Author(s) -
Murtagh D. P.,
Llewellyn E. J.,
Espy P. J.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/96gl03768
Subject(s) - oxygen , rocket (weapon) , dissociation (chemistry) , radiometer , molecule , photometer , atomic physics , materials science , photodiode , glow discharge , analytical chemistry (journal) , photochemistry , chemistry , physics , optics , plasma , optoelectronics , environmental chemistry , aerospace engineering , organic chemistry , engineering , quantum mechanics
A two channel infra‐red radiometer observed a contaminating glow at 1.53 µm on the up and down legs of a rocket flight between 90 and 105 km. No contamination was detectable at 1.27 µm nor by broadband uv/visible photodiode photometers. The structures in the glow showed a remarkable similarity with the structures on the simultaneously measured atomic oxygen profile. We have been able to show that the glow can be successfully modelled by I ∞ [O]² v², where v is the rocket speed. This implies that two oxygen atoms arriving on the surface are involved in the production of the emitting species. It is suggested that the oxygen atoms form a molecule which is either radiatively stabilized or undergoes an association/dissociation with a surface adsorbed oxygen molecule.