Midlatitude oxygen ultraviolet nightglow

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Abstract
Oxygen 1304 and 1356 Å emissions, the principal features in the 1240 to 1670 Å nightglow spectrum, were measured at 60 Å resolution by a spectrometer carried on an Aries rocket to 347 km above White Sands Missile Range, 26 January 1977. The spectrum and altitude variations of the signal were measured from 180 to 340 km at a zenith angle of approximately 40°. Peak observed intensities near 260 km of 0.61 and 0.45 R for 1304 and 1356 Å emissions respectively are attributed primarily to O+ −e radiative recombination, with an allowable 25% contribution from O+‐O− mutual neutralization. The partial radiative recombination coefficients derived from the data are α1356 = 7.8 × 10−13cm³s−1 and α1304 = 4.9 × 10−13cm³s−1 for a 700°K exospheric temperature.