Space shuttle glow

FIGURE 17.5 The glowing tail section of the space shuttle viewed from inside the vehicle. 

In the onter regions of the atmosphere the bombardment of molecules and atoms by solar particles gives rise to anroras. The glow on space shuttles is caused by excitation of molecnles adsorbed on the shuttles surface. 

We then study a natural phenomenon—aurora borealis—and a human-made phenomenon—the glow of space shuttles— in the outer layers of the atmosphere. (17.2)... 

The space shuttle and the international space station, flying some 200-300 km above the surface of earth, and other spacecraft in similar low-altitude orbits, have been found to have a visible glow around them. This glow is produced by the interaction of the vehicle with the space environment at these altitudes, mostly with oxygen ions. However, the precise physical and chemical processes involved are not well understood. Such a glow, if present around earth-sensing and astronomical telescopes, can affect the sensitivity and operational conditions of these instruments. 

A human-made light show that baffled scientists for several years is produced by space shuttles orbiting Earth. In 1983, astronauts first noticed an eerie orange glow on the outside surface of their spacecraft at an altitude about 300 km above Earth (Figure 21.5). 

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