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Laboratory Determination of the Luminous Efficiency of Meteor Constituents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

Howard F. Savage  and
Charles A. Boitnott
Howard F. Savage
Affiliation:
Ames Research Center, NASAMoffett Field, California
Charles A. Boitnott
Affiliation:
Ames Research Center, NASAMoffett Field, California

Abstract

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A crossed beam apparatus has been used to measure the emission and ionization cross sections for the prominent spectral features of Na, Ca, Mg, and Fe in collisions with N2 and O2 over the velocity range of 30 to 120 km/s. From the emission and ionization cross sections, the absolute luminous efficiencies in air were determined over the range of meteor velocities. The maximum luminous efficiencies for the brightest features were: greater than 1 percent for the Na D-lines, 0.2 percent for the CaI(2) singlet, 0.06 percent for the MgI(2) and MgI(3) triplets, and O.4 percent for Fe over the visible spectral range. These luminous efficiencies are valid for free molecular flow conditions for velocities above about 30 km/s and are directly applicable to spectroscopic observations of faint meteors. The luminous efficiency of a typical stone will be presented and compared with the efficiencies determined by other investigators. In contrast to previous work, the luminous efficiency found for stone in the present investigation decreases with velocity above about 50 km/s.

Type
Research Article
Information
International Astronomical Union Colloquium , Volume 13: Evolutionary and Physical Properties of Meteoroids , June 1971 , pp. 83 - 87
Copyright
Copyright © NASA 1971

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