Airglow spectrum
Joachim Köppen DF3GJ ... Kiel, July 2016
Some brief explanations
- Shown is the observed spectrum of the night sky. It is a composite of two spectra taken by R.Napiwotzki with
the 3.5 m telescope at the German-Spanish Observatory on mount Calar Alto. These spectra were taken to
determine the sky background which has always to be subtracted from the proper spectra of astronomical objects.
The two spectra were joined together at 5544 A. Towards the lower and upper wavelength end, the continuum level
rises because the intensity calibration becomes inaccurate.
- The spectrum contains many emission lines from atoms and molecules that are excited by various processes.
- Enter the minimum and maximum wavelengths (in Angstroem) of the region to be displayed, then press the Show-Button
or the Enter key. The vertical axis shows the (linear) intensity, and is always scaled to the maximum value in
that region.