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Thermospheric nitric oxide from the ATLAS 1 and Spacelab 1 missionsSpectral and spatial images obtained with the Imaging Spectrometric Observatory on the ATLAS 1 and Spacelab 1 missions are used to study the ultraviolet emissions of nitric oxide in the thermosphere. By synthetically fitting the measured NO gamma bands, intensities are derived as a function of altitude and latitude. We find that the NO concentrations inferred from the ATLAS 1 measurements are higher than predicted by our thermospheric airglow model and tend to lie to the high side of a number of earlier measurements. By comparison with synthetic spectral fits, the shape of the NO gamma bands is used to derive temperature as a function of altitude. Using the simultaneous spectral and spatial imaging capability of the instrument, we present the first simultaneously acquired altitude images of NO gamma band temperature and intensity in the thermosphere. The lower thermospheric temperature images show structure as a function of altitude. The spatial imaging technique appears to be a viable means of obtaining temperatures in the middle and lower thermosphere, provided that good information is also obtained at the higher altitudes, as the contribution of the overlying, hotter NO is nonnegligible. By fitting both self-absorbed and nonabsorbed bands of the NO gamma system, we show that the self absorption effects are observable up to 200 km, although small above 150 km. The spectral resolution of the instrument (1.6 A) allows separation of the N(+)(S-5) doublet, and we show the contribution of this feature to the combination of the NO gamma (1, 0) band and the N(+)(S-5) doublet as a function of altitude (less than 10% below 200 km). Spectral images including the NO delta bands support previous findings that the fluorescence efficiency is much higher than that determined from laboratory measurements. The Spacelab 1 data indicate the presence of a significant population of hot NO in the vehicle environment of that early shuttle mission.
Document ID
19960011402
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
doi:10.1029/95JA01040
Authors
Torr, Marsha R. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Torr, D. G. (Alabama Univ. Huntsville, AL., United States)
Chang, T. (Alabama Univ. Huntsville, AL., United States)
Richards, P. (Alabama Univ. Huntsville, AL., United States)
Swift, W. (Alabama Univ. Huntsville, AL., United States)
Li, N. (Alabama Univ. Huntsville, AL., United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
September 1, 1995
Publication Information
ISSN: 0148-0227
Subject Category
Geophysics
Report/Patent Number
NAS 1.26:200032
PAPER 98J01040
NIPS-96-07277
NASA-CR-200032
Accession Number
96N17838
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAGW-3692
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS8-37106
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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