Abstract
PROF. L. VEGARD'S recent note1 on the atomic lines in the auroral spectrum calls for some comments. While it is true that the presence of the Vegard-Kaplan bands in auroral spectra was first observed and interpreted by Vegard, R. Bernard reported an auroral spectrum in which these bands and the 3,470 line were unusually strong in comparison with the rest of the spectrum. The remarkable resemblance between this auroral spectrum and the high-pressure afterglow spectrum discovered by me led Bernard to interpret the radiation at 3,470 as a line rather than as the 2 P.G. (3–4) band as proposed by Vegard. One must give Bernard credit for an important new observation in recognizing this resemblance.
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References
Vegard, L., NATURE, 142, 670 (1938).
Kaplan, J., Pub. Astr. Soc. Pac., 47, 257 (1935).
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KAPLAN, J. Atomic Lines in the Auroral Spectrum. Nature 143, 278–279 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/143278b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/143278b0
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