A rotating, midday auroral event with northward interplanetary magnetic field

Details A rotating, midday auroral event with northward interplanetary magnetic field A rotating, midday auroral event with northward interplanetary magnetic field

Aug 1993

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1993jgr....9813731m&link_type=abstract

Journal of Geophysical Research (ISSN 0148-0227), vol. 98, no. A8, p. 13,731-13,739.

Physics

3

Auroras, Electron Precipitation, Interplanetary Magnetic Fields, Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling, Particle Acceleration, Convection, Field Aligned Currents, Polar Caps, Rotating Plasmas

Scientific paper

We present ground-based observations of an isolated, daytime auroral event that occurred near magnetic noon, poleward of a stable cusp aurora. It emitted about 20 kR of 557.7-nm light, with little if any admixture of 630.0-nm radiation. The structure rotated rapidly then underwent a sudden breakup. The spectral distribution of emitted light indicates that electrons responsible for this auroral structure were accelerated though several kilovolts between the magnetosheath and the ionosphere. Such a potential structure requires that the precipitating, arc electrons constitute a field-aligned current out of the ionosphere. Current continuity and Ohm's law require radial electric fields within the arc. From the structure's rotational speed, we estimate that the accelerated electrons carried an upward field-aligned current of order 100 micro-A/sq m. Satellite observations of polar cap convection patterns suggest that the interplanetary magnetic field had turned northward prior to the event. The auroral structure may be explained as resulting from a transitory magnetic merging of interplanetary and lobe magnetic field lines at and/or a penetration of plasma across the high-latitude magnetopause.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

A rotating, midday auroral event with northward interplanetary magnetic field does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with A rotating, midday auroral event with northward interplanetary magnetic field, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and A rotating, midday auroral event with northward interplanetary magnetic field will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1493081