aInstitute of Space and Atmospheric Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
bDepartment of meteorology University of Stockholm, Sweden
Abstract:
New measurements of the Herzberg I emission height profile in the night airglow are reported and indicate a peak emission height near 96 km in agreement with previous measurements. Using an atomic oxygen concentration profile determined from the oxygen green line profile measured on the same rocket it is concluded that the O2(A3Σu+) state is not excited in the direct three body recombination of atomic oxygen. It is suggested that the excitation mechanism is a two step process, similar to the Barth mechanism for the atomic oxygen green lineand that the excited intermediate state is C3Δu.