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Alkali metal cloud experiments in the upper atmosphere

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The Century of Space Science

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Abstract

Prior to the space age, scientists knew practically nothing about the neutral atmosphere above 30 km. The early sounding rockets greatly advanced our understanding of the physics of this region in a relatively short time. During the period 1954–1970, ejections of sodium atoms by rockets created clouds that remained observable for tens of minutes. Sodium atoms in the atmosphere above 90 km have a relatively long lifetime. They are visible at twilight from optical resonance induced by sunlight at D doublet wavelengths. The first sodium trail experiments gave entirely new insights into the physics, dynamics and structure of the neutral atmosphere from 90 to 400 km. The turbopause was discovered, winds were measured, and quantitative data on eddy diffusion and the first vertical structure of the neutral temperature were obtained.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, Paris, France

    Jacques Blamont

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  1. Jacques Blamont
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. SRON — National Institute for Space Research, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Johan A. M. Bleeker

  2. ISSI — International Space Science Institute, Bern, Switzerland

    Johannes Geiss

  3. ESA — European Space Agency, Paris, France

    Martin C. E. Huber

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© 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Blamont, J. (2001). Alkali metal cloud experiments in the upper atmosphere. In: Bleeker, J.A.M., Geiss, J., Huber, M.C.E. (eds) The Century of Space Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0320-9_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0320-9_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-7923-7196-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-010-0320-9

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