Studies of substorm on March 12, 1991: 2. Auroral electrons. Acceleration,injection, and dynamics

In the first part of this study of the substorm of March 12, 1991, the space-time structure of substrorm disturbance and dynamics of auroral ions were considered. This second part presents an analysis of measurements of auroral electrons onboard the CRRES satellite. It is demonstrated that enhancements of the electron flux (injections) during large-scale and local dipolarizations of the magnetic field are determined by a combination of field-aligned, induction, and betatron mechanisms of acceleration with an effect of displacement of the drift shells of particles. The relative contributions of these mechanisms in relation to the energy of auroral electrons are determined.     

Plasma flow disturbances in the magnetospheric plasma sheet during substorm activations

We have considered variations in fields and particle fluxes in the near-Earth plasma sheet on the THEMIS-D satellite together with the auroral dynamics in the satellite-conjugate ionospheric part during two substorm activations on December 19, 2014 with K _p = 2. The satellite was at ~8.5R_E and MLT = 21.8 in the outer region of captured energetic particles with isotropic ion fluxes near the convection boundary of electrons with an energy of ~10 keV. During substorm activations, the satellite recorded energetic particle injections and magnetic field oscillations with a period of ~90 s. In the satellite-conjugate ionospheric part, the activations were preceded by wavelike disturbances of auroral brightness along the southern azimuthal arc. In the expansion phase of activations, large-scale vortex structures appeared in the structure of auroras. The sudden enhancements of auroral activity (brightening of arcs, auroral breakup, and appearance of NS forms) coincided with moments of local magnetic field dipolarization and an increase in the amplitude Pi2 of pulsations of the B_z component of the magnetic field on the satellite. Approximately 30–50 s before these moments, the magnetosphere was characterized by an increased rate of plasma flow in the radial direction, which initiated the formation of plasma vortices. The auroral activation delays relative to the times when plasma vortices appear in the magnetosphere decreased with decreasing latitude of the satellite projection. The plasma vortices in the magnetosphere are assumed to be responsible for the observed auroral vortex structures and the manifestation of the hybrid vortex instability (or shear flow ballooning instability) that develops in the equatorial magnetospheric plane in the presence of a shear plasma flow in the region of strong pressure gradients in the Earthward direction.     

Connection between the discrete auroral structures drifting equatorward during the substorm expansion phase and the energetic particle injections at the geostationary orbit

The formation of an auroral bulge with a bright dynamical arc at its polar boundary is one of the main manifestations of the magnetospheric substorm expansion phase at the ionospheric level. At the same time, the region of discrete aurora broadens not only polewards but equatorwards as well. The discrete forms of auroras moving equatorwards form a dynamical equatorial boundary of the auroral bulge shifting together with them. The paper presents a spatial-time comparison of the drifting discrete auroras to the injection of energetic particles at the geostationary orbit. It is shown that bursts in the fluxes of energetic particles at the LANL geostationary satellites located in the same sector of MLT correspond to the majority of drifting discrete auroral structures observed by the all-sky camera. In the cases when the bursts in the fluxes are absent, the minimum latitude reached by the auroral structures at the equatorward drift is higher than the ionospheric projection of the geostationary orbit. A possible relation of the drifting discrete auroras to the plasma stream jets in the plasma sheet is discussed.     

Magnetospheric signatures of auroral disturbances during the passage of the solar wind’s CIR and sheath regions

Based on Polar satellite data, the authors have studied the auroral disturbances that arose during the passage by the Earth of compressed plasma regions formed in front of high-speed solar wind streams (the CIR region) and in front of magnetic clouds (the Sheath region). The aurorae observed by the Polar satellite possessed basic signatures of a substorm: a localized onset and expansion toward the pole and westward and eastward. However, in these cases they had a very large size in longitude and latitude and occupied a very large area. All disturbances observed by the Polar satellite during the Sheath and CIR regions of the solar wind in December of 1996, in 1997–1998, and in 2000 were analyzed. Eight events during disturbance development in the ionosphere, when the Geotail satellite was located in the plasma sheet of the magnetospheric tail, were selected. It is shown that in all selected cases some typical signatures of substorm development in the magnetospheric tail were observed, namely: (1) fast plasma flows (flow reversal, i.e., from tailwards to Earthwards) and (2) a sharp decrease of the total pressure, which followed an interval of total pressure increase. One can draw the conclusion that in the CIR and Sheath regions with a high solar wind density, substorm disturbances of a specific type are observed, with large latitudinal and longitudinal size (sometimes occupying the entire polar cap).     

Studies of the substorm on March 12, 1991: 1. Structure of substorm activity and auroral ions

The substorm on March 12, 1991 is studied using the data of ground-based network of magnetometers, all-sky cameras and TV recordings of aurora, and measurements of particle fluxes and magnetic field onboard a satellite in the equatorial plane. The structure of substorm activity and the dynamics of auroral ions of the central plasma sheet (CPS) and energetic quasi-trapped ions related to the substorm are considered in the first part. It is shown that several sharp changes in the fluxes and pitch-angle distribution of the ions which form the substorm ion injection precede a dipolarization of the magnetic field and increases of energetic electrons, and coincide with the activation of aurora registered 20° eastward from the satellite. A conclusion is drawn about different mechanisms of the substorm acceleration (injection) of electrons and ions.     

Effects of small-scale plasma disturbance on the IKB-1300 spacecraft potential

The potential of the Intercosmos-Bulgaria-1300 (IKB-1300) satellite launched to a circular orbit at an altitude ～900 km was measured with several instruments. Care was taken to equalize the potential along the satellite surface. The satellite was placed inside the conducting screen and the solar cells had a metal coating. The satellite potential slightly varied along the trajectory and in the typical case it was “?2”B that corresponds to 5 kTe/e. While the satellite crossed the auroral zone small-scale fluctuations of plasma and field parameters, known as shocks, were recorded. In this region a sharp decrease of the satellite negative potential is often observed. In this case the potential variations well correlate with the increasing flux of energetic electrons. The observed variations can be explained by secondary electron emission from the satellite surface.     

Auroral kilometric radio emission in the period of quiet sun in 1996

The auroral kilometric radio emission (AKR) is the most powerful sporadic radio emission of the terrestrial magnetosphere. It was discovered in 1965 by Soviet scientists in the experiment onboard the Electron-2 satellite [1]. The AKR still continues to stay an object of a large interest and detailed study (see, for example, a review by Gurnett [2]). The mechanism of cyclotron maser instability proposed by Wu and Lee [3] is a commonly accepted mechanism of AKR generation. We have demonstrated the presence of powerful AKR simultaneously in both hemispheres of the Earth in the period from August 1995 to August 1997, including summer-winter periods, on particular examples of registration of this emission in [4] where the directivity and mechanism of the emission were studied. Since in that period AKR was observed in the vicinity of perigees of the satellite orbit in both hemispheres almost at every orbit (3.8 days), we have a possibility to trace in more detail the changes in the emission power from one orbit to another in 1996 during a deep minimum of solar activity.     

Enhancements of fluxes of precipitating energetic electrons on the boundary of the outer radiation belt of the earth and position of the auroral oval boundaries

An analysis of enhancements in the fluxes of electrons with energies above 300 keV registered onboard of the Coronas-F satellite in the polar regions at the boundary of the outer radiation belt is performed. Cases are revealed when the increases in question were observed consequently during multiple crossings of the outer radiation belt boundary. Localization of the revealed events relative to the auroral oval using the data of almost simultaneous observations of electrons with energies of 0.1–10 keV on the Meteor-3M satellite and OVATION model is studied. It is shown that almost all studied increases in relativistic electrons are localized at latitudes of the auroral oval. Various mechanisms which could cause the observed increases are discussed, as well as a possibility of formation of local traps of energetic particles in the high-latitude magnetosphere.     

Study of notches in the Earth’s plasmasphere based on data of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">MAGION-5</Emphasis> satellite

Depleted narrow (localized in longitude) regions (field tubes) in the plasmasphere, recently discovered in He⁺ radiation measurements on the IMAGE spacecraft, were first directly observed by the Magion-5 satellite. The low-density regions (notches) occupy <～ 10–30° in longitude and extend from L ～ 2–3 to the plasmasphere boundary in neighboring plasmasphere regions with larger densities. The Magion-5 data give evidence that in the low-density regions temperature is enhanced as compared to the neighboring denser plasmasphere regions. Formation of notches in the plasmasphere is, apparently, associated with AE intensification during weak magnetic storms, while strong magnetic storms usually result in the overall reduction of plasmasphere dimensions. However, even a strong magnetic storm on April 6–7, 2000 (max K _p = 9-and min D _st ～ ?290 nT), but accompanied by an isolated AE impulse, resulted in a density decrease only in the longitudinally limited post-midnight sector of the plasmasphere.     

CZ—2C／FP运载系统变轨发动机（FG—47）

ＦＧ－４７固体发动机是ＣＺ－２Ｃ／ＦＰ运载系统轨道转移装置，它可以将卫星（如铱星）从椭圆停泊轨道转移到６３０ｋｍ圆形运动轨道。该发动机由中国航天工业总公司河西化工机械公司研制，于１９９７年９月首飞成功，将一个模拟卫星送入轨道。     

Effect of large and sharp changes of solar wind dynamic pressure on the earths’s magnetosphere: analysis of several events

The magnetosphere and ionosphere response to arrival of large changes of the solar wind dynamic pressure with sharp fronts to the Earth is considered. It is shown that, under an effect of an impulse of solar wind pressure, the magnetic field at a geosynchronous orbit changes: it grows with increasing solar wind pressure and decreases, when the solar wind pressure drops. Energetic particle fluxes also change: on the dayside of the magnetosphere the fluxes grow with arrival of an impulse of solar wind dynamic pressure, and on the nightside the response of energetic particle fluxes depends on the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) direction. Under the condition of negative Bz-component of the IMF on the nightside of the magnetosphere, injections of energetic electron fluxes can be observed. It is shown, that large and fast increase of solar wind pressure, accompanied by a weakly negative Bz-component of the IMF, can result in particless’ precipitation on the dayside of the auroral oval, and in the development of a pseudobreakup or substorm on the nightside of the oval. The auroral oval dynamics shows that after passage of an impulse of solar wind dynamic pressure the auroral activity weakens. In other words, the impulse of solar wind pressure in the presence of weakly negative IMF can not only cause the pseudobreakup/substorm development, but control this development as well.     

Energetic particle measurements onboard Spectr-R with MEP-2

The energetic particle experiment MEP-2 onboard the Spectr-R high apogee satellite is briefly described. The instrument measures fluxes and spectra of electrons (30 keV–350 keV) and ions (30 keV–3.2MeV), using two pairs of silicon detectors. The example of first observations upstream from the bow shock illustrates its successful operation in space. Unique observations of ～30 s strong fluctuations of energetic ions with energies up to two hundred keV are discussed.     

天问一号环绕器中继轨道受摄共振特性分析

“天问一号”环绕器在环火中继轨道为“祝融”火星车提供中继服务时,星下点出现了过着陆点纬度时的经度先增大再减小的特殊漂移现象,需要对该现象产生的原因进行深入分析。基于摄动理论设计了一系列数值实验,提出了一种星下点过指定纬度时经度的简化计算方法;并结合对田谐项引力场位函数的解析推导发现,由于中继轨道周期与火星自转周期比接近1:3,导致3阶3次田谐项产生了轨道共振,从而使得半长轴长周期运动有着较为显著的振荡,进而与带谐项摄动联合导致了该特殊现象。研究揭示了“天问一号”环绕器的轨道共振现象,发现了高阶田谐项对非同步轨道上的环火卫星仍能产生较为明显的轨道共振现象。研究结果可为后续火星环绕探测任务轨道设计提供重要参考。     

Turbulence in the Plasma Sheet during Substorms: A Case Study for Three Events Observed by the INTERBALL Tail Probe

Variations of turbulence properties of the plasma sheet during geomagnetic substorms are investigated using observations of the INTERBALL Tail Probe satellite. The periods are chosen when the satellite was inside the plasma sheet. Fluctuations of the plasma bulk velocity across the plasma sheet are studied for the growth, expansion, and recovery phases of geomagnetic substorms on October 14, 1997; October 30, 1997; and December 16, 1998. It was demonstrated that the level of turbulence increases considerably after the onset of the substorm expansion phase and slowly decreases nearly to the presubstorm level later. The correlation times of plasma fluctuations in the Z-direction are estimated, and diffusion coefficients in the Z-direction are calculated.     

中低轨红外预警星座基于自由段跟踪的单星覆盖性能

推导了中低轨天基红外星座中单颗卫星基于自由段跟踪时的空域覆盖体积与星下黑体积,研究了其随轨道高度变化的规律,分析了存在切地角影响时的体积变化,并进行了计算。     

月球卫星轨道摄动及冻结轨道研究

利用理论分析、数值仿真与相图分析,论述了月球卫星冻结轨道与地球卫星冻结轨道的区别,分析结果表明,月球重力场存在较大异常,会引起月球卫星轨道发生较大漂移。月球冻结轨道在田谐项影响下,还存在中等周期的漂移。仅简单考虑带谐项系数,无法求得完美的月球冻结系数。月球重力场异常对绕月卫星的影响与地球相比存在很大区别。月球轨道卫星的长期运行与控制策略的设计,不能按照地球轨道卫星的传统方法。目前使用的月球引力模型精度较差,尽管基于这些不可靠的引力模型,可以得出很多有用结论,但对未来高精度的月球探测任务来说,还存在不足,需要在将来的月球探测任务中,探测高精度的月球重力场,以利于未来月球探测航天系统的任务分析与设计。     

低轨Walker星座构型演化及维持策略分析

针对低轨(LEO)Walker星座构型维持问题,分析在地球非球形引力和大气阻力摄动下卫星的运动规律及星座构型演化特性。结果表明,低轨Walker星座构型发散主要体现在由初始轨道参数不一致引起的轨道高度衰减和相位漂移,国内首例低轨Walker星座实测轨道数据验证了理论分析的正确性。结合星座任务特性与构型发散特点,提出了基于基准卫星的相对相位维持策略,选取一颗卫星作为基准卫星,使星座中其它所有卫星相对于基准卫星的相位漂移量累加值最小,通过对目标卫星实施一次相对基准卫星的轨道高度抬升/降低,维持星间的相对位置关系。实际工程应用表明了此策略的有效性,不仅降低星座构型维持的复杂度及频次,节约燃料,且轨控时间短,为我国今后卫星星座的构型维持提供参考。     

基于星历拟合的短弧运动学定轨

当导航卫星在姿轨控和轨道恢复期间,传统的统计定轨理论难以实现精密定轨。首次提出 了基于10参数星历拟合的短弧运动学定轨方法,建立和推导了相应的理论模型和定轨解算方 法。其优点在于不仅能够反映卫星运动的物理学特征,提高了速度和轨道预报精度,而且不 需要累积数据,实现近实时快速计算,克服了动力学法定轨发散和单点定位无法获得速度信 息的不足。对COMPASS M-01导航卫星实测数据的处理表明,10分钟短弧运动学定轨的位置精 度优于10 m,速度精度为2 cm／s,预报5分钟轨道精度为15.02 m,满足了短弧跟踪条件下R DSS对轨道精度的要求,实现了卫星精密定轨。
     

Observations of the auroral hectometric radio emission onboard the <Emphasis Type="Italic">INTERBALL-1</Emphasis> satellite

The results of five-year (1995–2000) continuous observations of the auroral radio emission (ARE) in the hectometric wavelength range on the high-apogee INTERBALL-1 satellite are presented. Short intense bursts of the auroral hectometric radio emission (AHR) were observed at frequencies of 1463 and 1501 kHz. The bursts were observed predominantly at times when the terrestrial magnetosphere was undisturbed (in the quiet Sun period), and their number decreased rapidly with increasing solar activity. The bursts demonstrated seasonal dependence in the Northern and Southern hemispheres (dominating in the autumn-winter period). Their appearance probably depends on the observation time (UT). A qualitative explanation of the AHR peculiarities is given.     

Analysis of DORIS range-rate residuals for TOPEX/Poseidon,Jason, Envisat and SPOT

Three currently operational radar altimeter satellites are equipped with the Doppler orbitography and radiopositioning integrated by satellite (DORIS) tracking system for precise orbit determination and two more are already foreseen. Any systematic errors in their computed orbits could possibly adversely affect scientific products used in climate change studies, such as sea level and ice sheet heights. DORIS residuals, which can be interpreted as a measure of orbit determination performance, often show systematic errors. We have therefore analyzed long time series of DORIS range-rate residuals in order to investigate possible systematic errors common to all DORIS analysis strategies and software packages, either on a satellite or on a station basis. In particular, the investigation has focused on global DORIS data of six satellites (TOPEX, Jason, Envisat and SPOT-2, -4 and -5) and station-specific data for Fairbanks, Easter Island and Syowa Base. Large measurement errors when crossing the South Atlantic Anomaly are easily detected in the DORIS residuals of Jason, while Envisat residuals show the most prominent evidence of multipath interference and the effect of a flight software update. Particularly, large errors were also found in low-elevation data.