• Login
     
    View Item 
    •   ORFEO Home
    • Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy
    • BIRA-IASB publications
    • View Item
    •   ORFEO Home
    • Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy
    • BIRA-IASB publications
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Aeronomy, a 20th century emergent science: the role of solar Lyman series

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    Kockarts(2002a).pdf (278.7Kb)
    Authors
    Kockarts, G.
    Discipline
    Physical sciences
    Subject
    atmospheric chemistry
    atmospheric structure
    geophysics
    history of geography
    planetary atmosphere
    Audience
    Scientific
    Date
    2002
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Description
    Aeronomy is, by definition, a multidisciplinary science which can be used to study the terrestrial atmosphere, as well as any planetary atmosphere and even the interplanetary space. It was officially recognized in 1954 by the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics. The major objective of the present paper is to show how aeronomy developed since its infancy. The subject is so large that a guideline has been chosen to see how aeronomy affects our atmospheric knowledge. This guideline is the solar Lyman alpha radiation which has different effects in the solar system. After a short description of the origins of aeronomy the first observations of this line are summarized since the beginning of the space age. Then the consequences of these observations are analyzed for the physics and chemistry of the neutral terrestrial atmosphere. New chemical processes had to be introduced, as well as new transport phenomena. Solar Lyman alpha also influences the structure of the Earth's ionosphere, particularly the D-region. In the terrestrial exosphere, solar Lyman alpha scattered resonantly by atomic hydrogen is at present the only way to estimate this constituent in an almost collisionless medium. Since planetary atmospheres also contain atomic hydrogen, the Lyman alpha line has been used to deduce the abundance of this constituent. The same is true for the interplanetary space where Lyman alpha observations can be a good tool to determine the concentration. The last section of the paper presents a question which is intended to stimulate further research in aeronomy.
    Citation
    Kockarts, G. (2002). Aeronomy, a 20th century emergent science: the role of solar Lyman series. , Annales Geophysicae, Vol. 20, Issue 5, 585-598, DOI: 10.5194/angeo-20-585-2002.
    Identifiers
    uri: https://orfeo.belnet.be/handle/internal/5185
    doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-20-585-2002
    scopus: 2-s2.0-0036072101
    Type
    Article
    Peer-Review
    Yes
    Language
    eng
    Links
    NewsHelpdeskBELSPO OA Policy

    Browse

    All of ORFEOCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesDisciplinesThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesDisciplines
     

    DSpace software copyright © 2002-2016  DuraSpace
    Send Feedback | Cookie Information
    Theme by 
    Atmire NV