Abstract
The middle thermospherefrom ~150 to 250 km is
characterized by rapid increase in temperature with altitude and rapid
ionization. The entire thermosphere is believed to be home to
atmospheric waves that propagate through it, originating both in the
atmospheric layers below and in the thermosphere itself. Within the
middle thermosphere, direct observations of such waves are extremely
sparse. The GOLD far-UV imaging spectrometer is able to observe the
middle thermosphere from geostationary orbit. During October 2018 a
special observational campaign was performed, designed to identify
atmospheric waves. Signatures in the 135.6 nm O airglow were seen that
move northwards with time, away from the Southern polar region. These
are consistent with a large-scale atmospheric gravity wave. These
results are the first time 135.6 nm airglow has been used to track such
a wave and highlight the ability of GOLD to observe such waves, even
when at a modest amplitude, and track their motion.