Rocket studies of far-ultraviolet radiation in an aurora

Auroral spectra have been obtained in the wavelength region 1050–1550 A over the altitude range 90–160 km in an Aerobee rocket at Fort Churchill, Manitoba. Spectral lines of atomic hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen, and eighteen bands of the Lyman-Birge-Hopfield system of molecular nitrogen were identified. The primary electron flux and the 3914-A emission of N2+ were also measured throughout the flight. Altitude profiles for several spectral features and the electron flux are given, and correlations among the various observations are discussed. The hydrogen-Lyman-α radiation at 1216 A is found to be independent of the aurora. Other origins for this radiation are suggested.