Chemiluminescence of sodium released at night and its relation to the sodium nightglow
Abstract
Sodium vapor was released in darkness on the downleg of a rocket trajectory, from 150 to 125 km. An intense headglow was observed surrounding the rocket, followed by a short-lived afterglow disappearing within 0.2-0.5 s. The glow is interpreted in terms of a chemiluminous reaction involving sodium dimers Na2. The dimers react with atomic oxygen either in a single step, Na2 + O → Na* + NaO, or in two steps, Na2 + O → Na + NaO and NaO + O → Na* + O2, with an effective bimolecular rate constant of 6 × 10-11 cm³ s-1. The Na2-O reaction could be involved in the natural sodium nightglow, but it is difficult to explain the required fast resupply of dimers from monomers.
- Publication:
-
Journal of Geophysical Research
- Pub Date:
- April 1975
- DOI:
- 10.1029/JA080i010p01363
- Bibcode:
- 1975JGR....80.1363G
- Keywords:
-
- Chemiluminescence;
- D Lines;
- Nightglow;
- Sodium Vapor;
- Afterglows;
- Artificial Clouds;
- Rocket Sounding;
- Upper Atmosphere;
- Aeronomy: Composition (atomic or molecular);
- Meteorology: Chemical composition and chemical interactions