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A new means for observation of small comets and other water‐laden bodies entering Earth's upper atmosphere
Author(s) -
Banks Peter M.
Publication year - 1989
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/gl016i006p00575
Subject(s) - atmosphere (unit) , radiance , comet , astrobiology , atmospheric sciences , water vapor , environmental science , atmosphere of earth , earth (classical element) , infrared , altitude (triangle) , atmospheric physics , physics , meteorology , astronomy , optics , geometry , mathematics
This paper shows that the infrared radiance of comet‐associated water vapor clouds described by Frank et al. (1986b) is large relative to natural background emissions. This IR emission arises from scattering of solar radiation and earthshine and from excitation by upper atmospheric atomic oxygen. As a consequence, observations in space or from high‐altitude platforms should provide an unambigious signature of the entry of such objects into Earth's atmosphere.