Abstract The paper has presented a study of the dependence of the $ H^{+} $ ions concentration in the plasmasphere on geographic longitude. A vast database of measurements of the cold plasma density by the Alpha-3 instrument on board the INTERBALL-1 satellite has been used for the study. Based on these measurements, a dependence of the $ H^{+} $ ions concentration in the filled magnetic flux tube in the plasmasphere in the equatorial plane under quiet geomagnetic conditions has been obtained as a function of geographic longitude. Studies have been performed for two seasons, summer and winter. It has been shown that, during the summer in the near-midnight sector, the minimum in the $ H^{+} $ concentration falls within geographic longitudes of 270°–315°. The ratio of the concentration of $ H^{+} $ ions at various longitudes could reach a factor of three. During the winter, in the near-noon sector, the maximum of the $ H^{+} $ ions concentration falls within longitudes of 180°–225°, whereas the concentration ratio could reach a factor of 2.2.
Longitudinal dependence of the $ H^{+} $ concentration distribution in the plasmasphere according to INTERBALL-1 satellite data
Cosmic Research ; 55 , 6
2017
Article (Journal)
English
BKL: | 55.60 Raumfahrttechnik / 39.00 Astronomie: Allgemeines / 50.93 Weltraumforschung | |
Local classification TIB: | 770/3520/8000 |
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2002
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