Scattering of terrestrial kilometric radiation at very high altitudes
On a number of occasions during the 3.8 y operating lifetime of RAE-2, strong terrestrial kilometric radiation was observed when the spacecraft was over the far side of the moon and when the low altitude terrestrial magnetosphere was completely obscured from view. If these deep lunar occultation events are used to infer radio source locations, then it is found that the apparent source must sometimes be situated at geocentric distances of 10 to 40R/sub E/ or more. From an analysis of these events, it is shown that they are probably due to propagation effects rather than the actual generation of the emission at such large distances. The kilometric radiation can be generated near the earth at auroral latitudes and subsequently strongly scattered in the magnetosheath and nearby solar wind to produce the large apparent distances. The most likely scatterers are density inhomogeneities in the magnetosheath plasma and ion plasma waves in the magnetosheath and the upstream solar wind.
- Research Organization:
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Greenbelt, MD (USA). Goddard Space Flight Center
- OSTI ID:
- 6291455
- Report Number(s):
- N-78-26350; TRN: 79-011060
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Terrestrial kilometric radiation. I. Spatial structure studies
Terrestrial kilometric radiation: 1: spatial structures studies
Related Subjects
GENERAL PHYSICS
EARTH PLANET
RADIOWAVE RADIATION
MAGNETOSPHERE
WAVE PROPAGATION
SCATTERING
ION PLASMA WAVES
KHZ RANGE 100-1000
MAGNETOSHEATH
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
FREQUENCY RANGE
ION WAVES
KHZ RANGE
PLANETS
PLASMA WAVES
RADIATIONS
640203* - Atmospheric Physics- Magnetospheric Phenomena- (-1987)
640102 - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Stars & Quasi-Stellar
Radio & X-Ray Sources