Illumination of the Earth’s ionosphere by the vacuum ultraviolet radiation reflected by the moon

Abstract

The spectral curve of the flux density of the radiation, which is reflected by the full moon towards the Earth’s ionosphere within a wavelength range of 200–1700 A, has been presented. This curve is obtained by the approximation of space experiment data available in the scientific literature on the lunar spectral albedo and solar spectrum. Estimates of maximum values of spectral densities of fluxes reflected by the full moon in the neighborhood of wavelengths of ionization of basic ionospheric particles (neutral atoms of H I, He I, N I, O I, and Ar I and ions of He II, N II, O II, Ar II, N III, O III, and Ar III, as well as molecules of H2, N2, and O2) are given.