The ¹D-³S transition in atomic oxygen: A new method of measuring the O abundance in planetary thermospheres

The forbidden 2p4 ¹D - 3s ³So transition of atomic oxygen at 1641 A has been identified in the satellite dayglow spectrum of Huffman et al. (1980). By modelling the optically thick ³P - ³S 1304 A transition, a probability of 5.4 × 10−6 is determined for ³So atoms branching to the ¹D state rather than to the ³P ground state. The ratio of the 1641 A to 1304 A intensities is found to be a linear function of the atomic oxygen abundance; therefore the ratio can be used to determine the O concentration in optically thick planetary thermospheres.

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