A METHOD OF MEASURING THE TEMPERATURE OF THE LOWER THERMOSPHERE

The temperature of the lower thermosphere between 110 and 140 km has been measured from the analysis of the rotational structure of the (1,1) nitric oxide gamma band in the ultraviolet dayglow. The ultraviolet spectra were obtained on a rocket experiment at Poker Flat, Alaska, at local noon on March 7, 1989. The temperatures were determined by generating synthetic spectra of the nitric oxide gamma bands and performing a multiple linear regression analysis of the rocket and synthetic spectra.