Investigation of the glow of the Herzberg I band of molecular oxygen in the Earth’s night sky

Abstract

The calculated seasonal altitude distributions of the volumetric intensity iν'ν" (cm–3 · s–1) of the luminescence of the Herzberg I band of molecular oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere at night depending on the altitude for high and low solar activity are presented. The calculated volume intensity values demonstrate that the greatest seasonal variations are observed at altitudes of ≈87–97 km for both high and low solar activity. The results of calculations of the integrated luminosity Iν'ν" (cm–2 · s–1) are also presented, while the volumetric radiation intensity values are recalculated into integral values using the approximation of an optically thin layer. It is shown that the calculation results are in good agreement with the experimental data obtained from both the space shuttle and ground-based observations.