Thermospheric disturbance recorded by photometers onboard the ARIA II rocket

Strickland, D. J.; Hecht, J. H.; Christensen, A. B.; McEwen, D. J.

doi:10.1029/1999ja900473

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Some of these involve rocketborne optical measurements (Hecht et al, 1995;Strickland et al, 2000) which are of course impractical for long duration monitoring experiments. Ground-based passive optical techniques offer the possibility of more continuous monitoring of the effects of auroral precipitation on composition change in the lower thermosphere, and at much lower cost.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The application of ground-based optical techniques for inferring electron energy deposition and composition change during auroral precipitation events

Hecht

Strickland

Conde

2006

Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The application of ground-based optical techniques for inferring electron energy deposition and composition change during auroral precipitation events

Hecht

Strickland

Conde

2006

Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…On Earth, the OI green line emission results primarily from O + 2 dissociative recombination, as well as collisions with excited N 2 and direct electron impact (Strickland et al 2000). It is unclear whether or not other molecular species could play a similar role if N 2 is not the bulk atmospheric constituent.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Pale Green Dot: A Method to Characterize Proxima Centauri b Using Exo-Aurorae

Luger

Lustig‐Yaeger

Fleming

et al. 2017

ApJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We examine the feasibility of detecting auroral emission from the potentially habitable exoplanet Proxima Centauri b. Detection of aurorae would yield an independent confirmation of the planet's existence, constrain the presence and composition of its atmosphere, and determine the planet's eccentricity and inclination, thereby breaking the mass-inclination degeneracy. If Proxima Centauri b is a terrestrial world with an Earth-like atmosphere and magnetic field, we estimate the power at the 5577Å OI auroral line is on the order of 0.1 TW under steady-state stellar wind, or ∼100× stronger than that on Earth. This corresponds to a planet-star contrast ratio of 10 −6 − 10 −7 in a narrow band about the 5577Å line, although higher contrast (10 −4 − 10 −5 ) may be possible during periods of strong magnetospheric disturbance (auroral power 1 − 10 TW). We searched the Proxima Centauri b HARPS data for the 5577Å line and for other prominent oxygen and nitrogen lines, but find no signal, indicating that the OI auroral line contrast must be lower than 2 × 10 −2 (with power 3,000 TW), consistent with our predictions. We find that observations of 0.1 TW auroral emission lines are likely infeasible with current and planned telescopes. However, future observations with a space-based coronagraphic telescope or a ground-based extremely large telescope (ELT) with a coronagraph could push sensitivity down to terawatt oxygen aurorae (contrast 7 × 10 −6 ) with exposure times of ∼1 day. If a coronagraph design contrast of 10 −7 can be achieved with negligible instrumental noise, a future concept ELT could observe steady-state auroral emission in a few nights.

show abstract

“…The summarized results for the ratios of the integrated band intensities for a number of isolated Vallance Jones [1974] 0.31 Richards and Torr [1990] 0.30 Gattinger et al [1991] 0. 35 Hecht et al [1995] 0.29 Strickland et al [2000] 0.25 Average 0.30 ± 0.04 N 2 2P system transitions (v 0 = 0 and 1) to those for the N 2 + 1N (0-0) band, as measured in this experiment over a range of tangent heights, are compared in Table 2 to ratios given by Vallance Jones [1974]. The relative rates for the electron induced auroral N 2 2P band system emissions [Vallance Jones, 1974] were calculated assuming the upper electronic state vibrational populations are proportional to the excitation Frank-Condon factors of Benesch et al [1966] and using the transition probabilities of Shemansky and Broadfoot [1971].…”

Section: Auroral Event and Msx Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The relative auroral intensities of selected N 2 2P and N 2 + 1N bands have been studied extensively in ground-based [e.g. Gattinger et al, 1991] and space-based [e.g., Solomon, 1989;Hecht et al, 1995;Strickland et al, 2000] measurement programs and in model simulations of auroral electron energy loss processes based on comprehensive sets of excitation cross sections [Richards and Torr, 1990;Solomon, 1989]. In an analysis of Atmospheric Explorer C satellite data, Solomon [1989] concludes that the ratio of the N 2 2P (0-0) band to the N 2 + 1N (0 -1) band at 427.8 nm is constant and independent of the characteristic energy of the primary auroral electrons.…”

Section: Auroral Event and Msx Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Auroral NO⁺ 4.3 μm emission observed from the Midcourse Space Experiment: Multiplatform observations of 9 February 1997

et al. 2007

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

[1] The Spatial Infrared Imaging Telescope III (SPIRIT III) radiometer on the Midcourse Space Experiment satellite (MSX), observed enhanced 4.3 mm emission from a very well characterized aurora over the Barents Sea on 9 February 1997, in conjunction with observations by the POLAR and FAST satellites, the Loparskaya ground site, and ultraviolet and visible spectrometers aboard MSX. Measurements of the auroral location, form, spatial extent and dosing conditions were applied to specify the component of auroral 4.3 mm radiance due to the slowly produced and optically thick CO 2 n 3 (001-000) transition. An analysis based on the Auroral Atmospheric Radiance Code (AARC) indicates: (1) the emission originates near and beyond the tangent point; (2) the optically thick CO 2 n 3 radiation is largely self absorbed by the intervening atmosphere; and (3) the auroral enhancement is predominantly due to NO + Dv = 1 vibrational state transitions. In addition, the analysis indicates that the previously reported laboratory result for the NO + v ! 1 vibrational yield from the reaction, N + + O 2, is insufficient to account for the observed 4.3 mm emission. In order to explain the current results, we propose that there is additional production from the reaction, N 2 + + O, forming NO + in vibrational levels 0, 1, and 2 with relative populations of approximately 0.25, 0.5, and 0.25, respectively. The combined production processes yield an energetic electron induced efficiency of 0.56 ± 0.18 photons per auroral ion pair for NO + Dv = 1 emission at altitudes equal to or greater than 112 km.

show abstract

Thermospheric disturbance recorded by photometers onboard the ARIA II rocket

Cited by 9 publications

References 36 publications

The application of ground-based optical techniques for inferring electron energy deposition and composition change during auroral precipitation events

The application of ground-based optical techniques for inferring electron energy deposition and composition change during auroral precipitation events

The Pale Green Dot: A Method to Characterize Proxima Centauri b Using Exo-Aurorae

Auroral NO⁺ 4.3 μm emission observed from the Midcourse Space Experiment: Multiplatform observations of 9 February 1997

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Thermospheric disturbance recorded by photometers onboard the ARIA II rocket

Cited by 9 publications

References 36 publications

The application of ground-based optical techniques for inferring electron energy deposition and composition change during auroral precipitation events

The application of ground-based optical techniques for inferring electron energy deposition and composition change during auroral precipitation events

The Pale Green Dot: A Method to Characterize Proxima Centauri b Using Exo-Aurorae

Auroral NO+ 4.3 μm emission observed from the Midcourse Space Experiment: Multiplatform observations of 9 February 1997

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Auroral NO⁺ 4.3 μm emission observed from the Midcourse Space Experiment: Multiplatform observations of 9 February 1997