Observation of OH Meinel (7,4) P( N″=13) transitions in the night airglow

Abstract

Improved spectral measurements of the OH Meinel Δv = 3 night airglow emissions have revealed unexpectedly intense transitions from high rotational levels. The example selected for this communication involves the previously unreported P(N″ = 13) transitions in the OH M (7, 4) band. Under the extant conditions, the column emission rates associated with these new features exceeded by factors ∼10 4 those expected on the basis of the assumption of rotational‐kinetic equilibrium for the v′ = 7 rotational manifold. We present the key observations and discuss some of the implications.