Imaging Near-Earth Electron Densities Using Thomson Scattering
Abstract
An innovative observational concept to image the electron density in the near-Earth environment or geospace, which includes the plasmasphere, the magnetosphere, and their boundary regions, was studied. The concept is based on the broadband detection of Thomson-scattered sunlight by the geospace electrons. This study shows that the proposed measurement is feasible with currently available technology. The major challenge of this novel type of measurement is to achieve a suitable temporal and spatial resolution while maintaining a high enough signal-to-noise ratio to separate the relatively weak Thomson scattering signal from the bright background, which is dominated by zodiacal light.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 15, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA497466
Entities
People
- Christoph R Englert
- Damien H. Chua
- Dennis G. Socker
- J. Michael Picone
- Jonathan F. Krall
- Joseph D. Huba
- M. T. Carter
- Robert Meier
- Steven P. Slinker
- William S. Vincent
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory