Abstract
THE failure to observe nitric oxide bands in the auroral spectrum or in that of the light of the night sky has long been a puzzle to me. One of the most conspicuous characteristics of nitrogen afterglow spectra is the intense excitation of the β- and γ-systems of NO in active nitrogen even in the presence of only a trace of oxygen. Of these two systems, the β-bands are the more intense, and the strongest members lie on the long wave-length side of the great Hartley absorption band of ozone. The γ-system lies on the short wave-length side. This description is significant for the interpretation of the experiments which will be described below.
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References
Gauzit, J., Ann. d'Astrophys., 334, July 1933.
Compton, A. H., Schem, M., and Gill, P. S., Science, 89, 3938 (1939).
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KAPLAN, J. Nitric Oxide in the Earth's Upper Atmosphere. Nature 144, 152 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/144152a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/144152a0
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