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Meteor Ion Spectra

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Abstract

As a meteoroid evaporates, its vapours emit spectra of neutral atoms as well as ionic spectral lines. In the spectra of high velocity meteoroids, these ionized lines are the strongest feature, especially multiplet 1 (the H and K lines) of Ca II (multiplet numbers are those given in ref. 1). It is not sufficient, however, to attribute their excitation in the spectrum of bright meteors merely to the high velocity of the meteoroid. Strong Ca II spectra are also observed for slow meteoroids2. In addition, as the meteoroid penetrates the atmosphere, with little change or even a decrease in velocity, its ion spectra characteristically become progressively brighter. The spectrum at the beginning of the trail is predominantly from neutral atoms, while at the end it is from excited ions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Measurement and Instrumentation Techniques Laboratory, NASA Electronics Research Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts

    HERBERT S. HOFFMAN & MARTIN S. LONGMIRE

Authors
  1. HERBERT S. HOFFMAN
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  2. MARTIN S. LONGMIRE
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HOFFMAN, H., LONGMIRE, M. Meteor Ion Spectra. Nature 218, 858–859 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/218858a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/218858a0

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