Atomic oxygen in Earth's upper atmosphere
Atomic oxygen in Earth's upper atmosphere
Tim Peake, the British astronaut working for the European Space Agency (ESA), observed clouds in the upper part of the atmosphere at an altitude of about 80 kilometres above the Earth from the International Space Station (ISS). The SOFIA measurements target the concentration of atomic oxygen in precisely this part and play an important role in estimating temperatures in the upper atmosphere. They can confirm the theories describing the exchange of solar energy between Earth’s surface and space.
