Editing Explorer 7 (section)

=== Solar X-Ray and Lyman-Alpha Radiation ===
The solar X-ray and Lyman-alpha radiation were measured by means of gas ionization chambers mounted on opposite sides of the upper portion of the double cone configuration of the Explorer 7 satellite. Intensities were monitored in order to obtain a long-term history of solar X-ray and [[Lyman-alpha emitter|Lyman-alpha]] fluxes and to correlate these with terrestrial atmospheric responses. The two X-ray detectors ({{cvt|2.5|cm}} deep) were filled with argon gas and had beryllium windows (.021 g/sq cm) resulting in a sensitivity to X-rays in the 2 to 8 [[Angstrom|A]] range. The Lyman-alpha detectors (on the opposite side), which were circular ionization chambers ({{cvt|1.9|cm}} in diameter) filled with [[Nitric oxide|nitric oxide gas]], had [[lithium fluoride]] windows. Their sensitivity was in the 1050 to 1350 A interval. The data, however, were impossible to interpret in terms of incident solar radiation due to both the saturation of detector circuits by Van Allen radiation (150 keV [[electron]]s) and electronic difficulties in the feedback amplifier.<ref name="Instrument2">{{cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/experiment/display.action?id=1959-009A-02|title=Experiment: Solar X-Ray and Lyman-Alpha Radiation |publisher=NASA|date=28 October 2021|access-date=2 November 2021}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>