Abstract
Quantitative estimates of ionization sources that maintain the night-time E- and F-region ionosphere are given. Starlight (stellar continuum radiation in the spectral inverval 911–1026 Å) and resonance scattering of solar Ly- β into the night sector are the most important sources in the E-region and are capable of maintaining observable electron densities of order (1–4) × 10 3 cm −3. Starlight ionization rates have substantial variations (factors of 2–4) with latitude and time of year since the brightest stars in the night sky occur in the southern Milky Way and Orion regions. In the lower F-region the major O + source in the equatorial ionosphere is 910 Å radiation from the O + recombination in the F2-region, whereas in the extratropical ionosphere interplanetary 584 Å radiation only exceeds resonance scattering of solar 584 and 304 Å radiation as the dominant O + source during the month of December.
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