Abstract
The far ultraviolet spectrometer experiment on the S3-4 satellite made nadir-viewing observations of the atomic oxygen dayglow during the spring of 1978. Comparison of 27 orbits of OI 1304 Å ( 3P- 3S), 1356 Å ( 3p- 5S), and 1641 Å ( 1D- 3S) intensities shows important orbit-to-orbit variations. For four selected orbits of data, airglow intensities have been computed using the O abundance predicted by the MSIS-83 model atmosphere for the appropriate geophysical conditions. In general, the MSIS-83 empirical model reproduces the airglow rather well. To match the absolute magnitude of the airglow, the computed photoelectron flux was increased by 40%, also the observed 1641 1304 intensity ratio required a branching ratio of 2.4 × 10 −6. Reductions in the airglow during geomagnetically disturbed conditions suggest decreases in the O concentration which can be observed remotely.
Published Version
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