A quasi-periodic pc 1 micropulsation emission

A pc 1 micropulsation event, recorded shortly after the geomagnetic storm of 3 May 1967, displays a periodicity of spectrographic morphology which is closely analogous to that more commonly exhibited by quasi-periodic VLF emissions. It is suggested that this event is associated with the periodic bunching of the ambient plasma in the geotail, induced by a geotail cavity hydromagnetic eigenoscillation, and its subsequent injection into the closedfield region of the night-time magnetosphere.     

Exospheric perturbations by radiation pressure: II. Solution for orbits in the ecliptic plane

An earlier paper gave solutions for the mean time rates of change of orbital elements of satellite atoms in an exosphere influenced by solar radiation pressure. Each element was assumet to beahve independently. Here the instantaneous rates of change for three elements $\text{(e, ω,}\text{and}\text{θ = ω + Ω)}$ are integrated simultaneously for the case of the inclination i = 0. The results (a) confirm the validity of using mean rates when the orbits are tightly bound to the planet and (b) serve as examples to be reproduced by the complicated numerical solutions required for arbitrary inclination. Strongly bound hydrogen atoms perturbed in Earth orbit by radiation pressure do not seem a likely cause of the geotail extending in the anti-Sun direction. Instead, radiation pressure wil cause those particles' orbits to form a broad fan-shaped tail and to deteriorate into the Earth's atmosphere. Whether loosely bound H atoms are plentiful enough to create the geotail depends on their source function versusr; that question is beyond the scope of this paper.     

Variations in air density at heights near 200 km during 1967–1969, from the orbit of 1967-31A

Air density at a height of 180–200 km from July 1967 to September 1969 has been determined from analysis of the high eccentricity orbit of satellite 1967-31A. The data show good correlation between sudden density increase and geomagnetic disturbance. The increases for disturbances of equal strength are approximately 40% greater during night-time than daytime hours. The day-night influence is also observed in the changes in density with changes in the solar flux index, F₁₀. The 27-day density variation is predominant mainly during night-time, although the atmospheric response to F₁₀ variations is quite variable regardless of local time. A semi-annual variation of approx. 40% is observed. Also found is a 25% diurnal variation for heights near 170–180 km, which is in good agreement with the CIRA 1972 atmosphere.     

Time-dependent studies of the aurora: Effects of particle precipitation on the dynamic morphology of ionospheric and atmospheric properties

A self-consistent, time-dependent numerical model of the aurora and high-latitude ionos-phere has been developed. It is used to study the response of ionospheric and atmospheric properties in regions subjected to electron bombardment. The time history of precipitation events is arbitrarily specified and computations are made for a variety of electron spectral energy distributions and flux magnitudes. These include soft electron precipitation, such as might occur on the poleward edge of the auroral oval and within the magnetospheric cleft, and harder spectra representative of particle precipitation commonly observed within and on the equatorward edge of the auroral oval. Both daytime and night-time aurorae are considered. The results of the calculations show that the response of various ionospheric and atmospheric parameters depends upon the spectral energy distribution and flux magnitudes of the precipitating electrons during the auroral event. Various properties respond with different time constants that are influenced by coupling processes described by the interactive model. The soft spectrum aurora affects mainly the ionospheric F region, where it causes increases in the electron density, electron temperature and the 6300 Å red line intensity from normal quiet background levels during both daytime and night-time aurora. The fractional variation is greater for the night-time aurora. The hard spectrum aurorae, in general, do not greatly affect the F-2 region of the ionosphere; however, in the F-1 and E regions, large increases from background conditions are shown to occur in the electron and ion temperatures, electron and ion densities, airglow emission rates and minor neutral constituent densities during the build-up phase of the auroral event. During the decay phase of the aurora, most of these properties decrease at nearly the same rate as the specified particle precipitation flux. However, some ionospheric and atmospheric species have a long memory of the auroral event. The odd nitrogen species N(⁴S) and NO probably do not ever reach steady-state densities between auroral storms.     

Meridional ionospheric electric field caused by curvature current in the magnetosphere

The bending of geomagnetic field lines towards the geotail produces a curvature drift of charged particles parallel to the geomagnetic axis. The divergence of the current so produced forms Birkeland current to the ionosphere where a meridional electric field is created. This field would drive ionospheric currents to form a negative magnetic bay in the dawn sector of the auroral zone and a positive one in the dusk sector. Also it would cause a dawn-dusk field across the polar cap.     

Night-time geomagnetic variations at low latitudes

Using hourly values of the magnetic elements H, D and Z for 1964, 1965, their variation during night-time hours is examined from both their monthly means and from a previously used harmonic analysis method. The data set used represents quiet magnetic conditions. Consistent changes during the night are often found. Seasonal changes are also examined and it seems necessary to modify the Malin—Isikara hypothesis of a moving ring current by including a seasonal modulation of ring current strength with equinoctial maximum and a local time-varying component or partial ring current. The night-time D component shows considerable asymmetry between North and South hemispheres and this might be due to field-aligned current structure. There is a small amount of evidence for a night-time westward equatorial electrojet enhancement.     

A search for the minimum number of stations needed for seismic networking on Mars

The efficiency of a seismic network in providing information on the rate of seismicity, and on the inner structure of Mars, is estimated through a statistical analysis which takes into account the possible existence of a liquid core, the expected low rate of seismicity of Mars when compared to the Earths, and the attenuating properties of the mantle. The tests are performed for two frequency ranges (0.1–1.0 Hz and 0.5–2.5 Hz), for three instrumental noise amplitude densities ranging from 5 to 500×10⁻¹⁰ m s⁻² Hz^−1/2, and for three network configurations consisting of 4, 12 and 16 stations. Travel time tables are computed for P, S, PcP, ScS, and PKP phases using a simplified three layer model. Present-day estimates of liquid core radius induce a 25° wide shadow zone beginning at epicentral distances larger than 110°. Consequently, the best detection efficiency which can be expected from any network is of the order of 60% for mantle body waves. The detection efficiency is primarily controlled by the instrumental noise level. Since the amplitude of mantle body waves rapidly decreases with epicentral distance, high noise level instruments can only detect local events. Therefore, the detection score attained by 4 highly sensitive stations can be up to 30 and 7 times better than the score attained by 12 high noise level sensors, for mantle P and S waves, respectively. If crustal scattering is negligible, the record of mantle P waves on a network consisting of four low noise level instruments would permit to sample Mars mantle down to the core-mantle boundary. Conversely, the deepest penetration of rays recorded by a network of 12 high noise level sensors would hardly reach 300 km. In fact, strong crustal scattering might be the most important difficulty to be encountered in a seismic exploration of Mars. A possibility to deal with this problem would be to associate each of the four low noise instruments with three medium noise level sensors. This network strategy might permit to sample P and S mantle waves travelling down to 400–600 km, even if a lot of seismic energy is lost through crustal scattering.     

Some questions of the night-time ionospheric E region formation in middle latitudes

An attempt is made to analyse known experimental data on electron density and ion composition of the night-time ionosphere; the main ideas on the night-time E region ionization source are considered; the role of dynamic processes in the irregular structure formation of the night-time ionospheric E region is discussed.     

Counter equatorial electrojet currents in the Indian zone

The paper describes the phenomenon of afternoon depression of the geomagnetic H field on quiet days near the magnetic equator in the Indian zone. These events occur most frequently around 1600 solar hr and are localized in longitude; sometimes, not seen at stations separated by even 2 hr LT. The geomagnetic disturbance tends to decrease or destroy the identity of the phenomenon. The latitudinal extent of these events is confined to the equatorial electrojet region. The events do not seem to be caused mainly by the Moon, but their occurrences are modified by the lunar age, being most frequent around new and full Moon. These events are associated with the disappearance of the q type of E_s over the Equator for periods during which the H field is below the night-time level. The currents responsible for these events flow westward in the E-region and are within few degrees centred near the magnetic equator.     

SME observations of O2 (1 delta g) nightglow: an assessment of the chemical production mechanisms

Solar Mesosphere Explorer (SME) observations of the 3 a.m. 1.27 micrometers nightglow at 45 N latitude, averaged over the period 10-31 July 1984, are reported. From the deduced volume emission rates, we derive the O2(a1 delta g) night-time production rates for the 80-100 km altitude range. Utilizing the mean SME-acquired 3 p.m. ozone profile for the same latitude and time period and an updated photochemical model, we determine night-time O, O3, H, OH, HO2, and H2O2 profiles. These are used in calculating the rates of reactions which are sufficiently exothermic to produce O2(1 delta) or excited states of OH or HO2, which could transfer their energy to O2 to form O2(1 delta). Of these reactions, most have rates that are quite small compared with the observed night-time O2(1 delta) production rate. For several others, laboratory experiments have found O2(1 delta) yields which are insufficient for simulating the observed O2(1 delta). Using yields of O2(1 delta) based on published laboratory and observational studies, we find that the sum of two reaction sequences can approximate the SME measurements: (1) O+O+M and (2) H+O3 followed by OH*+O2.     

Permanent flare activity in the magnetosphere during periods of low magnetic activity in the auroral zone

Auroral, magnetic variation and pulsation data from the dense network in the nearmidnight portion of the auroral zone are used together with the measurements of suprathermal particles and electromagnetic fields by the IMP-8 and ISEE-1 spacecraft within the plasma sheet to study the characteristics of activity during two magnetically quiet periods on 3 March 1976 and 23 March 1979. Contrary to existing beliefs, we found clear signatures of numerous (5–10 events per hour) transient events, characterized by plasma flows, energetic particle bursts and E−B field variations. A close association of these events in the plasma sheet with the local auroral flares (LAFs) in the conjugate sector of the auroral zone is established for many events. We conclude that LAF (local auroral arc activation with associated Pi pulsations but extremely weak magnetic bays) have the same plasma sheet manifestations (apparently, the same physics) as the individual substorm intensifications during strong substorm expansion events, which differ from the studied quiet periods mainly by the strength and number of these intensifications. These transient phenomena seem to play an important role in the energetics of the quiet time magnetotail.     

Local time asymmetries of the SSC-associated hydromagnetic variations at the geosynchronous altitude

167 SSC events have been studied by using the data observed at the multiple-satellites at the geosynchronous altitude. The strong local time asymmetry of the SSC amplitude which was found by Kokubun (1983) has been confirmed. The pronounced local time asymmetry has also been found with the direction of the initial movement of Psc magnetic pulsations. Those local time effects are interpreted by the intensification of the magnetopause surface current during a SSC event, and by the distance between the geosynchronous satellite and the surface current. It has also been clarified that the SSC signal propagates with a speed of 400–700 km s^?1 across the field lines in the magnetosphere as suggested by Wilken et al. (1982).     

Median ionospheric height variations over a sunspot cycle in the Australian-Japanese longitudinal sector

The monthly median virtual height (h′F) of the F-region was studied for a period of 6 years (1980–1985) from sunspot maximum to minimum, using data from 11 ionosonde stations in the Japanese-Australian longitudinal sector, in an invariant latitude range: 37°N to 54°S. The night-time maximum in the median height progressively decreases equatorwards, particularly in the local winter and spring, while a reverse weak tendency is observed in summer. The median height reaches peak in both hemispheres from 1 to 2 years after sunspot maximum then decreases towards sunspot minimum. A second diurnal maximum in h′F, preceded by a well-defined minimum, was consistently observed over the solar cycle close to the sunrise time at the F-region, mainly at low invariant latitudes (9–20°). The second maximum has a distinct seasonal variation, being most pronounced in winter and diminishing in summer. It is envisaged that the second peak in h′F is associated with the wave disturbance generated by the supersonic motion of the sunrise terminator. Possible effects of the background height variations on the propagation of the magnetic storm-induced travelling ionospheric disturbances are discussed.     

A new Method for Determining the Interplanetary Current-Sheet Local Orientation

In this work we have developed a new method for determining the interplanetary current sheet local parameters. The method, called `HYTARO' (from Hyperbolic Tangent Rotation), is based on a modified Harris magnetic field. This method has been applied to a pool of 57 events, all of them recorded during solar minimum conditions. The model performance has been tested by comparing both, its outputs and noise response, with these of the `classic MVM' (from Minimum Variance Method). The results suggest that, despite the fact that in many cases they behave in a similar way, there are specific crossing conditions that produce an erroneous MVM response. Moreover, our method shows a lower noise level sensitivity than that of MVM.     

The excitation of the infrared atmospheric oxygen bands in the nightglow

Simultaneous observations of the nightgiow emission profiles of $\text{O}{}_2\text{(}{}^1\text{Δ)}$ and the OH Meinel bands have been used to show that the excitation mechanism for $\text{O}{}_2\text{(}{}^1\text{Δ)}$ in the night-time is through the reaction between OH¹ and atomic oxygen and the recombination of atomic oxygen. These reactions, and the proposed rate constants, have been used to derive the atomic oxygen profile appropriate to the observations. It is suggested that the atomic oxygen profile may exhibit significant structure near the mesopause at high latitude. It is also suggested that the extent of this structure may be influenced by transport effects related to stratospheric warming events.     

Mean values of particular functions in the elliptic motion

The mean values % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXafv3ySLgzGmvETj2BSbqefm0B1jxALjhiov2D% aebbfv3ySLgzGueE0jxyaibaiGc9yrFr0xXdbba91rFfpec8Eeeu0x% Xdbba9frFj0-OqFfea0dXdd9vqaq-JfrVkFHe9pgea0dXdar-Jb9hs% 0dXdbPYxe9vr0-vr0-vqpWqaaeaabiGaciaacaqabeaadaqaaqGaaO% qaamaalaaabaGaaGymaaqaaiaaikdacqaHapaCaaWaa8qCaeaacaGG% OaacbaGaa8NKbiabgkHiTiaadYgacaGGPaGaa8hiaiGacogacaGGVb% Gaai4Caiaa-bcacaWGRbGaa8NKbiaa-bcacaWGKbGaamiBaaWcbaGa% aGimaaqaaiaaikdacqaHapaCa0Gaey4kIipakiaa-bcacaqGHbGaae% OBaiaabsgacaWFGaWaaSaaaeaacaaIXaaabaGaaGOmaiabec8aWbaa% daWdXbqaaiaacIcacaWFsgGaeyOeI0IaamiBaiaacMcacaWFGaGaci% 4CaiaacMgacaGGUbGaa8hiaiaadUgacaWFsgGaa8hiaiaadsgacaWG% SbaaleaacaaIWaaabaGaaGOmaiabec8aWbqdcqGHRiI8aaaa!6BC2!\[\frac{1}{{2\pi }}\int\limits_0^{2\pi } {(f - l) \cos kf dl} {\rm{and}} \frac{1}{{2\pi }}\int\limits_0^{2\pi } {(f - l) \sin kf dl}\] (where f and l are respectively the true anomaly and the mean anomaly in the elliptic motion and k is an integer) are given in closed form.     

Astronomical identification of the C3H radical

The C3H radical, a linear carbon chain with a 2 pi electronic ground state, has been identified in the millimeter-wave spectra of two astronomical sources, IRC +10216 and TMC-1, and conclusively confirmed (accompanying Letter) in a laboratory glow discharge. In IRC +10216 four rotational transitions have been observed, three in the lower fine-structure ladder (2 pi 1/2) and one in the upper (2 pi 3/2), each a resolved or partially resolved lambda-doublet. In TMC-1, both lambda components of the lowest lying 3/2 --> 1/2 transition of the 2 pi 1/2 ladder have been observed, each with well-resolved hfs. In IRC +10216 the excitation of C3H is similar to that of SiCC: the rotational temperature Trot within the 2 pi 1/2 ladder is low (8.5 K), owing to rapid radiative decay, while Trot across the ladders is high (approximately 52 K) because interconnecting far-IR radiative transitions are only weakly permitted. The column density of C3H in IRC +10216 averaged over the estimated source diameter of 84" is 2.8 x 10(13) cm-2, an order of magnitude less than that of C2H and C4H. A determination of the spectroscopic constraints of C3H that permitted the entire radio spectrum of this molecule to be calculated to high accuracy has been derived from analysis of the combined astronomical and laboratory data presented in the accompanying Letter.     

A Research on the Algorithm of Local Atomic Time

The goal of all time laboratories’ pursue is to produce and keep a stable, precise and reliable time scale. The long-term stability of the time scale is mainly taken into account in the traditional ALGOS algorithm, while the local atomic time scale should give consideration to both the long-term and shortterm stabilities. From the analysis and research on the atomic clock noise model and under the condition that the long-term stability of the local atomic time scale does not drop, a complete algorithm is proposed which is suitable for the calculation of the local time scale TA (NTSC) carried out at the time laboratory with the time-keeping clocks of a unitary type and being close in performance at the National Time Service Center, called the NTSC for short, of Chinese Academy of Sciences. The data of all the clocks in the NTSC which participated in the calculation of the International Atomic Time (TAI) all the year round in 2008 are applied to the test and verification of the new algorithm, with the result showing that both the short- and long-term stability indexes of the obtained TA (NTSC) are improved. The research result is suitable for the calculation of the atomic time scale of the time laboratory whose time keeping system is similar to that of the NTSC.     

Possibility of continuous monitoring of celestial X-ray sources through their ionization effects in the nocturnal D-region ionosphere

The electron production rates in the night-time D-region arising from the transit of strong celestial X-ray sources Sco X-1, Tau X-1 and Galactic Center are estimated and compared with the ambient electron production rates resulting from other known stable agencies. Using the experimentally measured values of the night-time electron densities, the number of additional electrons/cc expected from the passage of these sources is computed. For the 164 kHz transmission from Tashkent, received at Ahmedabad, the associated enhancement in the attenuation is calculated using the full wave admittance technique of Barron and Budden. Reasonable agreement is shown to exist between the calculated values of the attenuation and those of direct observations.     

Magnetospheric and night-time induced effects in the regular daily variation s

This study is an attempt at identifying, during exceptionally quiet periods, both the regular magnetospheric effects at ground predicted by Olson (1970, 1971) and the night-time induced effects predicted by Ashour and Price (1965). Hourly values, and first and second differences of these, are analysed for a low-latitude observatory (Alibag) and a near-focus observatory (San Juan). The analysis fails to detect the magnetospheric expected regular variations. The night-time induced effects are probably identified in component Z at the near-focus station; their amplitude (0.4 gamma) is five times smaller than the predicted one but various reasons indicate that the deviation from the theoretical value is smaller.