Auroral x ray images
A new x ray 'pin-hole' camera has been developed to study the spatial and temporal characteristics of the energetic component of auroral electron precipitation. The camera obtains spectral information on bremsstrahlung X rays with energies between 22 and 110 keV, and it details spatial structure with scale lengths between 10 and 80 km (9/sup 0/-62/sup 0/ cone angles). The camera has been deployed by a balloon into several auroral break-up associated events. In this report preliminary images are shown from these events, and several types of observed phenomena are discussed. These phenomena include the observation of a spectrally soft, 20 km spot which appeared to initiate a major break-up event and which appeared together with a component which was spectrally hard and spatially uniform. The timing of this event, the multiple components, and the discrepant spatial scales are reminiscent of geostationary observations of dispersionless substorm injections. Also discussed is the slow spatial evolution of X ray burst generating regions, as well as the spatial modulation of precipitation of hydromagnetic oscillation (Pc 5) within the magnetosphre. It appears that small scale spatial structure (> or approx. =15 km) is a prominent feature of energetic electron precipitation.
- Research Organization:
- Geophysics Program, Space Sciences Division, Univerity of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195
- OSTI ID:
- 5801875
- Journal Information:
- J. Geophys. Res.; (United States), Vol. 86:A8
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
GENERAL PHYSICS
AURORAE
ELECTRON PRECIPITATION
X-RAY SPECTRA
BREMSSTRAHLUNG
HYDROMAGNETIC WAVES
IONOSPHERE
MAGNETIC BAYS
X-RAY EMISSION ANALYSIS
CHARGED-PARTICLE PRECIPITATION
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
NONDESTRUCTIVE ANALYSIS
PLANETARY IONOSPHERES
RADIATIONS
SPECTRA
640201* - Atmospheric Physics- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magetospheric Phenomena