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Observations of hydrogen Lyman α emission from missile trails

1999; American Geophysical Union; Volume: 104; Issue: A5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1029/1999ja900029

2156-2202

G. T. Hicks, T. A. Chubb, R. R. Meier,

Astro and Planetary Science

The Naval Research Laboratory far ultraviolet experiment on board the OGO 4 satellite accidentally detected hydrogen Lyman α emission following the passage of missiles through the upper atmosphere. The deposition of hydrogenous exhaust products above 100 km results in a local enhancement of hydrogen, which resonantly scatters Lyman α radiation from the Sun and from the geocorona, and produces a far ultraviolet contrail. The observed local enhancement of radiation was as much as 37% above the natural background. All event detections took place at time intervals of 6 min to 10 hours following the passage of a missile or spacecraft. There was no opportunity to observe prompt emissions. We describe the observations of this unusual phenomenon and the implications for hydrogen production mechanisms.