Abstract
Ro-vibrational band head emissions from highly rotationally-excited NO +( v, J) ( J⩾90) have been observed for quiescent and aurorally disturbed conditions at tangent altitudes between approximately 100 and 215 km in the terrestrial thermosphere. The formation of these band heads in NO + requires very high rotational excitation with rotational energy of at least 1.9 eV. The data were obtained between 28 and 30 April 1991 with the CIRRIS-1A cryogenic interferometer from on board the space shuttle. These are the first observations of non-thermal rotational emissions from NO + in the airglow. Several possible sources of these non-thermal emissions are discussed. This is the third in a series of recent discoveries (all from the CIRRIS-1A data base) of significant non-thermal rotational effects in an important atmospheric species.
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