Multiple wavelength optical observations of a long-lived meteor trail

A long-lived meteor trail has been observed at wavelengths of 572.5 nm, 557.7 nm, 630.0 nm, 865.5 nm and in the near infrared band from 715 to 930 nm. The trail was detected at all these wavelengths, with the possible exception of 865.5 nm, where its identification was marginal. It was seen longest (17 minutes) through the wide band NIR 715-930 nm filter. The fact that the trail was only marginally visible in the 865.5 nm (0–1) band of molecular oxygen, and was strongest in the wide-band NIR image, raises serious doubts about an earlier suggestion that the infrared light from long-lived meteor trails corresponds to emissions from molecular oxygen excited by the Chapman mechanism.