Abstract
MOLECULAR oxygen (O2) has been detected spectroscopically in the atmosphere of Mars, using lines in the 7620 Å A-band. Weak lines in the wings of the strong terrestrial atmospheric PQ(7), PP(7), PQ(9), and PP(9) oxygen transitions show equivalent widths of 2 to 4 mÅ. Positive identification of the Martian atmosphere as the source of these lines is based on the following facts: four separate lines are resolved; each line has been observed repeatedly, and in each case it falls at the appropriate predicted Doppler-shifted wavelength1 with an accuracy of ± 0,01 Å; all four lines are of similar strength as predicted by theory; and the observed lines are not solar Fraunhofer lines (no lines stronger than 0.3 mÅ are observed in the corresponding positions in the Doppler-shifted Venus spectrum).
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BARKER, E. Detection of Molecular Oxygen in the Martian Atmosphere. Nature 238, 447–448 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/238447a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/238447a0
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