Ulysses charged particle measurements between 1 and 5 AU from the sun.

Proton fluxes obtained by two instruments carried on the ESA/NASA Ulysses spacecraft are reported for the period from launch in October 1990 till Jupiter encounter in February 1992. Proton energy ranges are 24-59, 71-99, 130-320, 320-2100 and > 2100 MeV. The Sun was very active during this period, the events of March 1991 being some of the largest of the solar cycle. The relationship between events on the Sun and the observed proton flux is discussed.     

Satellites for the study of ocean primary productivity

Estimates of global marine primary productivity are currently based upon the ¹⁴C method for determining rates of plankton photosynthesis and upon the relatively sparse data available using shipboard sampling techniques. With recent advances in remote sensing and in multiplatform (ship, aircraft, and satellite) sampling strategies, it is now possible to significantly lower the variance in estimates of phytoplankton abundance and of population growth rates.Multiplatform sampling strategies are essential to assess the mean and variance of phytoplankton biomass on a regional or on a global basis. The relative errors associated with shipboard and satellite estimates of phytoplankton biomass and primary productivity, as well as the increased statistical accuracy now possible from the utilization of contemporaneous data from both sampling platforms, are discussed. It is shown that one of the more exciting and potentially useful aspects of oceanographic research today is our new ability to view large areas of the ocean synoptically.     

The identification of mesospheric frontal gravity-wave events at a mid-latitude site

Mesospheric frontal-type gravity waves are an uncommon type of wave disturbance that occurs in the mesospheric OH, Na, O₂, and O(¹S) nightglow. They are understood to be the result of gravity waves exhibiting various degrees of non-linear behavior. Despite their similar appearance in all-sky images, careful analysis reveals that there are at least two distinct types of frontal wave disturbances, each with completely different consequences in terms of vertical momentum transport and deposition. Therefore, a correct identification is important in order to characterize their propagation modes. In this report we present the frontal gravity wave activity that occurred during a twelve-month period at Millstone Hill (42.6°N, 172.5°W), a mid-latitude site, to illustrate their range of behaviors.     

Remote sensing: A case for moving space data towards the public good

This paper discusses whether current international and national regulation of remote sensing activities achieves a true balance between proprietary interests of producers of remote sensing data and information and the needs of the community in accessing that data and information. By subjecting remote sensing data to general copyright restrictions that are often coupled with exclusive licences, irrespective of type or use of data and/or information, the development of important secondary information markets could be negatively hampered. In the long run, over-regulating access to space data may prove counter-productive in the information age. Using examples of different modes of information dissemination currently being practised, the paper highlights the balances to be drawn between legal issues of private ownership of data and information and public good interests. It concludes with suggestions for a more coherent regulatory approach.     

Magnetospheric electric field variations caused by storm-time shock fronts

On January 20, 2005 there was an X 7.1 solar flare at 0636 UT with an accompanied halo coronal mass ejection (CME). The resultant interplanetary shock impacted earth ∼36 h later. Near earth, the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft observed two impulses with a staircase structure in density and pressure. The estimated earth-arrival times of these impulses were 1713 UT and 1845 UT on January 21, 2005. Three MINIature Spectrometer (MINIS) balloons were aloft on January 21st; one in the northern polar stratosphere and two in the southern polar stratosphere. MeV relativistic electron precipitation (REP) observed by all three balloons is coincident (<3 min) with the impulse arrivals and magnetospheric compression observed by both GOES 10 and 12. Balloon electric field data from the southern hemisphere show no signs of the impulse electric field directly reaching the ionosphere. Enhancement of the balloon-observed convection electric field by as much as 40 mV/m in less than 20 min during this time period is consistent with typical substorm growth. Precipitation-induced ionospheric conductivity enhancements are suggested to be (a) the result of both shock arrival and substorm activity and (b) the cause of rapid (<6 min) decreases in the observed electric field (by as much as 40 mV/m). There is poor agreement between peak cross polar cap potential in the northern hemisphere calculated from Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) echoes and horizontal electric field at the MINIS balloon locations in the southern hemisphere. Possible reasons for this poor agreement include (a) a true lack of north–south conjugacy between measurement sites, (b) an invalid comparison between global (SuperDARN radar) and local (MINIS balloon) measurements and/or (c) radar absorption resulting from precipitation-induced D-region ionosphere density enhancements.     

The Medium Energy Instrument on Exosat

The Medium Energy Instrument on EXOSAT, although conceived as the main instrument for occultations, has been made sufficiently versatile to provide a significant advance over previous large area proportional counters when used for individual source studies of timing and spectra. The energy range is 1.2 to 50 keV, with E/E of 0.2 at 6 keV, sufficient to detect iron lines. The effective area of 1800 cm² and narrow field of view (3/4° × 3/4°) make it suitable for the detailed study of sources down to the 0.3 mCrab confusion limit. The unique facility provided by EXOSAT, allowing uninterrupted observations of X-ray sources for periods of up to 80 hours, backed up by a high capacity data link and on-board processing, enables timing studies to be performed over the range from milliseconds to days. Sophisticated background discrimination techniques giving a rejection efficiency of99% will control the background count rate to a suitably low value in the environment of the 200,000 km orbit.     

2–10 KeV spectra of Crab-like SNR's as observed by EXOSAT

The EXOSAT ME observations of 3C58 and G21.5-0.9 are presented. The data for these objects is considered in conjunction with the data available from EXOSAT for the Crab-like SNR's Crab and Vela X. The objects have single power law spectra with a range of spectral indices of 0.6 to 1.5, 3C58 and Vela X being similar to the Crab whilst G21.5-0.9 and the source associated with the Vela pulsar have significantly flatter spectra. The derived column density for G21.5-0.9 is consistent with a distance of 5 kpc. The X-ray luminosities and overall electromagnetic spectra of these objects are investigated as age indicators and compared to current model predictions.     

Magnetic holes in the solar wind and their relation to mirror-mode structures

Data obtained by the Ulysses magnetometer and solar wind analyzer have been combined to study the properties of magnetic holes in the solar wind between 1 and 5.4 AU and to 23° south latitude. Although the plasma surrounding the holes was generally stable against the mirror instability, there are indications that the holes may have been remnants of mirror mode structures created upstream of the points of observation. Those indications include: (1) For the few holes for which proton or alpha-particle pressure could be measured inside the hole, the ion thermal pressure was always greater than in the plasma adjacent to the holes. (2) The plasma surrounding many of the holes was marginally stable for the mirror mode, while the plasma environment of all the holes was significantly closer to mirror instability than was the average solar wind. (3) The plasma containing trains of closely spaced holes was closer to mirror instability than was the plasma containing isolated holes. (4) The near-hole plasma had much higher ion (ratio of thermal to magnetic pressure) than did the average solar wind.     

Adiabatic demagnetisation refrigerators for future sub-millimetre space missions

Space worthy refrigeration capable of providing a 100 mK and below heat load sink for bolometric detectors will be required for the next generation of sub-millimetre space missions. Adiabatic demagnetisation refrigeration (ADR), being a gravity independent laboratory method for obtaining such temperatures, is a favourable technique for utilisation in space.We show that by considering a 3 salt pill refrigerator rather than the classic single salt pill design the space prohibitive laboratory ADR properties of high magnetic field (6 Tesla) and a<2 K environment (provided by a bath of liquid⁴He) can be alleviated, while maintaining a sufficient low temperature hold time and short recycle time. The additional salt pills, composed of Gadolinium Gallium Garnet (GGG) provide intermediate cooling stages, enabling operation from a 4 K environment provided by a single 4 K mechanical cooler, thereby providing consumable free operation. Such ADRs could operate with fields as low as 1 Tesla allowing the use of high temperature, mechanically cooled superconducting magnets and so effectively remove the risk of quenching.We discuss the possibility of increasing the hold time from 3 hours, for the model presented, to between 40 and 80 hours, plus reducing the number of salt pills to two, through the use of a more efficient Garnet.We believe the technical advances necessitated by the envisaged ADRs are minimal and conclude that such ADRs offer a long orbital life time, consumable free, high efficiency means of milli-Kelvin cooling, requiring relatively little laboratory development.     

The ACE Magnetic Fields Experiment

The magnetic field experiment on ACE provides continuous measurements of the local magnetic field in the interplanetary medium. These measurements are essential in the interpretation of simultaneous ACE observations of energetic and thermal particles distributions. The experiment consists of a pair of twin, boom- mounted, triaxial fluxgate sensors which are located 165 inches (=4.19 m) from the center of the spacecraft on opposing solar panels. The electronics and digital processing unit (DPU) is mounted on the top deck of the spacecraft. The two triaxial sensors provide a balanced, fully redundant vector instrument and permit some enhanced assessment of the spacecraft's magnetic field. The instrument provides data for Browse and high-level products with between 3 and 6 vector s−1 resolution for continuous coverage of the interplanetary magnetic field. Two high-resolution snapshot buffers each hold 297 s of 24 vector s−1 data while on- board Fast Fourier Transforms extend the continuous data to 12 Hz resolution. Real-time observations with 1-s resolution are provided continuously to the Space Environmental Center (SEC) of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) for near- instantaneous, world-wide dissemination in service to space weather studies. As has been our team's tradition, high instrument reliability is obtained by the use of fully redundant systems and extremely conservative designs. We plan studies of the interplanetary medium in support of the fundamental goals of the ACE mission and cooperative studies with other ACE investigators using the combined ACE dataset as well as other ISTP spacecraft involved in the general program of Sun-Earth Connections. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.