A Collaborative Study of Plasma Irregularities from the HILAT Satellite.

Abstract

Convective motion and evolution of high latitude plasma irregularities are described. Data is utilized from the retarding potential analyzer and the ion drift meter on board the HILAT satellite to determine the large scale convective motion of the plasma. To obtain this information it is necessary to recover the satellite attitude data so that corrections for the look angle of the sensor with respect to the satellite can be made. The properties of the satellite attitude variation are described and the procedures for reducing the instrument data to geophysical parameters are outlined. Data from successive overlapping contacts of the satellite from three high latitude stations are utilized to provide coverage of the entire high latitude region. Then derivation of the electrostatic potential distribution is used to describe the global convection pattern. The details of this pattern and its effect on the transport of irregularities from their source region to other locations is studied. Keywords: Ionospheric plasma; Plasma irregularities.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1987
Accession Number
ADA182597

Entities

People

  • Roderick A. Heelis

Organizations

  • University of Texas at Dallas

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Air Force
  • Algorithms
  • Amplitude
  • Boundary Layer
  • Classification
  • Convection
  • Driftmeters
  • Geometry
  • High Latitudes
  • Measurement
  • Satellite Orientation
  • Security
  • Space Sciences
  • Spacecraft
  • Vehicles
  • Waveforms

Readers

  • Electromagnetic Wave Scattering and Antenna Radiation Engineering
  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers
  • Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Technology.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Hall-Effect Thruster
  • Space - Satellites