The ultraviolet radiation in sunlight is divided into three bands: UVA (320-400 nanometers), which can cause skin damage and may cause melanomatous skin cancer; UVB (280-320 nanometers), stronger radiation that increases in the summer and is a common cause of sunburn and most common skin cancer; and UVC (below 280 nanometers), the strongest and potentially most harmful form. Much UVB and most UVC radiation is absorbed by the ozone layer of the atmosphere before it can reach the earth's surface; the depletion of this layer is increasing the amount of ultraviolet radiation that can pass through it. The radiation that does pass through is largely absorbed by ordinary window glass or impurities in the air (e.g., water, dust, and smoke) or is screened by clothing.
The National Weather Service's daily UV index predicts how long it would take a light-skinned American to get a sunburn if exposed, unprotected, to the noonday sun, given the geographical location and the local weather. It ranges from 1 (about 60 minutes before the skin will burn) to a high of 10 (about 10 minutes before the skin will burn).
A small amount of sunlight is necessary for good health. Vitamin D is produced by the action of ultraviolet radiation on ergosterol, a substance present in the human skin and in some lower organisms (e.g., yeast), and treatment or prevention of rickets often includes exposure of the body to natural or artificial ultraviolet light. The radiation also kills germs; it is widely used to sterilize rooms, exposed body tissues, blood plasma, and vaccines.
Ultraviolet radiation can be detected by the fluorescence it induces in certain substances. It may also be detected by its photographic and ionizing effects. The long-wavelength, "soft" ultraviolet radiation, lying just outside the visible spectrum, is often referred to as black light; low intensity sources of this radiation are often used in mineral prospecting and in conjunction with bright-colored fluorescent pigments to produce unusual lighting effects.
See L. R. Koller, Ultraviolet Radiation (2d ed. 1965).
Although attempts to study the sun's UV spectrum from balloons were made during the 1920s, it was not until 1946 that rocket-borne instruments made this possible. Only limited additional progress was made until 1962, when the first Orbiting Solar Observatory (OSO) satellite was launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). These returned thousands of UV spectra, including the first exteme-ultraviolet (wavelengths below 200 nanometers) observations of the solar corona. Through continuous monitoring of the sun over a 15-year period, this program enhanced our understanding of the solar atmosphere and of the 11-year sunspot cycle.
NASA's Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO) satellites, the first of which was launched in 1966, returned UV data about stars and interstellar gas and dust and the first observations of the powerful UV radiation emitted by certain galaxies. Data from Copernicus (OAO-3), which was launched in 1972, led to the determination of the abundance of deuterium in interstellar matter; it also provided considerable information about the atmospheres of luminous hot stars. The Netherlands Astronomical Satellite (ANS) and the TD-1 satellite performed photometric and spectrophotometric surveys of stars in the UV wavelengths.
The International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE)—a joint project of the United States, the European Space Agency, and Great Britain—was launched in 1978. In orbit for a decade, it monitored the UV spectrum of Halley's comet during its 1986 approach, provided data about the UV reflectivity of the major planets, and contributed to the understanding of quasars; its large telescope made possible the first UV observations of objects beyond the Milky Way, permitting the determination of temperature and structural changes of cool stars during their starspot cycles. The Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE; 1992-2000) was the first orbiting observatory to focus on that part of the spectrum. In addition to data from these satellites, UV observations have also been made from two satellites launched in 1990 primarily for other purposes, the X-ray astronomy satellite ROSAT [ROentgen SATellite] and the Hubble Space Telescope.
Portion of the electromagnetic spectrum extending from the violet end of visible light to the X-ray region. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation lies between wavelengths of about 400 nanometres and 10 nanometres, corresponding to frequencies of 7.5 × 1014 Hz to 3 × 1016 Hz. Most UV rays from the Sun are absorbed by the Earth's ozone layer. UV has low penetrating power, so its effects on humans are limited to the skin. These effects include stimulation of production of vitamin D, sunburn, suntan, aging signs, and carcinogenic changes. UV radiation is also used to treat jaundice in newborns, to sterilize equipment, and to produce artificial light.
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Study of astronomical objects and phenomena by observing the ultraviolet radiation (UV radiation) they emit. It has yielded much information about chemical abundances and processes in interstellar matter, the Sun, and other stellar objects, such as hot young stars and white dwarf stars. Ultraviolet astronomy became feasible once rockets could carry instruments above Earth's atmosphere, which absorbs most electromagnetic radiation of UV wavelengths. Since the early 1960s, a number of unmanned space observatories carrying UV telescopes, including the Hubble Space Telescope, have collected UV data on objects such as comets, quasars, nebulae, and distant star clusters. The Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer, launched in 1992, was the first orbiting observatory to map the sky in the shortest UV wavelengths, at the boundary with the X-ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
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