ON THE NATURE OF THE EARTH'S THIRD RADIATION BELT
Results obtained with the aid of ion traps set up on Soviet cosmic rockets indicate the presence of a third (outermost) radiation belt. This belt consists largely of relatively soft electrons with energies greater than 200 ev. In the region of the so-called second radiation belt and up to altitudes of abcut 50,000 km the flux of electrons with energies greater than 200 ev is less than 2 x 10/sup 7/ cm/sup -2/ sec/sup -1/. On the other hand, in the region 55,000 < R < 75,000 km the flux is about 2 x 10/sup 8/ cm/sup -2/ sec/sup -1/. Thus the second belt should consist mainly of electrons having relatively high energies, and these electrons should move in the magnetic trap. It is argued that the third radiation belt is formed as a result of the interaction of solar wind and the earth's magnetic field. This leads to a redistribution of the energy, resulting in a net transfer from the protons to the electrons. The third radiation belt is a formation characteristic of magnetically quiet periods, when solar activity is low. It may be expected that during periods of high solar activity, when intense corpuscular streams reach the earth's atmosphere, both the third and second belts will be deformed, and their characteristics will be strongly affected. The energy density of the earth's magnetic field is consistent with the measured value of the charged-particle flux. It is argued that the concentration of stationary interplanetary plasma does not exceed the corpuscular concentration of the solar wind, about 1 cm/sup -3/. (OTS)
- Research Organization:
- Originating Research Org. not identified
- NSA Number:
- NSA-15-025374
- OSTI ID:
- 4018411
- Journal Information:
- Astron. Zhur., Vol. Vol: 37; Other Information: Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-61
- Country of Publication:
- Country unknown/Code not available
- Language:
- English
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