On the possible source of the ionization in the nighttime Martian ionosphere. I - PHOBOS 2 HARP electron spectrometer measurements

Details On the possible source of the ionization in the nighttime Martian ionosphere. I - PHOBOS 2 HARP electron spectrometer measurements On the possible source of the ionization in the nighttime Martian ionosphere. I - PHOBOS 2 HARP electron spectrometer measurements

Nov 1991

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1991jgr....9619307v&link_type=abstract

Journal of Geophysical Research (ISSN 0148-0227), vol. 96, Nov. 1, 1991, p. 19,307-19,313.

Physics

23

Electron Spectroscopy, Magnetospheric Ion Density, Mars Atmosphere, Planetary Ionospheres, Spectrum Analysis, Electron Energy, Electron Precipitation, Night

Scientific paper

The measurements of electron spectra in the Martian magnetosphere by the HARP instrument on board the Phobos 2 orbiter are presented. The energy of the electrons (a few tens of electron volts) is sufficient for the impact ionization of the planetary neutral gas, and the characteristic flux of electrons (about 10 exp 8/sq cm per sec) could produce the nightside ionospheric layer with a peak density of a few thousands of electrons per cubic centimeter, which corresponds to densities observed earlier during radio occultations of the Mars 4 and 5 and Viking 1 and 2 spacecraft. The possibility of magnetospheric electron precipitation into the nightside atmosphere of Mars is in agreement with the mainly induced nature of the magnetic field in the planetary magnetotail (as at Venus), while the variability of the Martian nightside ionosphere may be explained by the partial screening of the atmosphere by a weak intrinsic magnetic field of the planet.

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