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Updated: Aug 1, 2026

Measurement and Analysis of Atomic Hydrogen and Diatomic Molecular AlO, C2, CN, and TiO Spectra Following Laser-induced Optical Breakdown
Published on: February 14, 2014
Observation of radio-wave-induced red hydroxyl emission at low altitude in the ionosphere
L M Kagan1, M J Nicolls, M C Kelley
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada.
Abstract:
We report the discovery of radio-wave-induced red emission of OH Meinel rotation-vibrational bands at 629.79 nm. These are the first measurements of artificial aurora below 100 km. We believe that the 629.79-nm OH emission was due to radio-wave focusing by sporadic ionization clouds near 80-85 km altitude, thus giving a technique to visualize the low-altitude sporadic ionization and providing insight into ionospheric interactions at these low altitudes.
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