The diffuse aurora

A study of ground-based all-sky photographs substantiates the presence of the diffuse auroral belt as seen by the ISIS-2 (polar orbiting satellite) scanning auroral photometer. The intensity of the diffuse aurora increases when discrete auroras become active; in particular the diffuse aurora is most clearly seen equatorward of westward travelling surges. However, in the morning sector, it may or may not be detectable near eastward drifting patches in all-sky photographs. Some of what has been previously identified visually and in all-sky photographs as the proton aurora probably is a part of what we identify here as the diffuse aurora.The diffuse aurora appears sometimes to branch out into two, one along the auroral oval and the other along a constant geomagnetic latitude circle. The latter probably corresponds to the mantle aurora and the drizzle zone precipitation.