Rocket measurements of O2 atmospheric and OH Meinel Bands in the airglow

Abstract

Altitude distributions of the (0, 0) 7619‐Å band of O2 atmospheric system (b¹Σg+ ‐, X3Σg−) and the (7, 2) 6863‐Å band of OH (X²Π) in the night airglow emissions were measured at 31°N latitude. In spite of the different seasons and local times of the observations, all three measurements presented the peak emission rate occurring at an altitude of 94±1 km for the O2 band and at 90±2 km for the OH band. The former emitting altitude is in basic agreement with the atomic oxygen density profile as measured by using an O I 1300‐Å resonance lamp, but the latter is considerably higher than expected from relevant theoretical models. After examining various possible causes for this discrepancy, it seems that the continuum airglow may contaminate our observations of the OH airglow.