Comparisons of Energetic Electron Precipitation between FIREBIRD-II and POES Observations
Abstract
Precipitating electrons from the Van Allen Radiation Belts impact the physical and chemical properties of the upper atmosphere; yet, the electron flux is not well quantified. Electron flux into the atmosphere is observed by the recent Focused Investigations of Relativistic Electron Burst Intensity, Range, and Dynamics (FIREBIRD-II) CubeSat mission which provides high energy resolution for electron flux in polar low Earth orbit. This study performs a detailed comparison of energetic electron flux between the FIREBIRD-II CubeSats (FIREBIRD-3 and FIREBIRD-4) and several Polar-orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES) during spacecraft conjunction times. The POES satellites (NOAA-15, NOAA-18, NOAA-19, MetOp-1B, MetOp-2A) have excellent spatial and temporal coverage and are equipped with the Medium Energy Proton and Electron Detector (MEPED), which has a lower energy resolution than FIREBIRD. In general, FIREBIRD-II and MEPED observations show good agreement, with FIREBIRD electron flux generally between the POES 0 and 90 degree telescope values. FIREBIRD-II and POES electron observations are also studied with respect to hemisphere, L-shell, and geomagnetic activity. This comparison will provide valuable information for studying the FIREBIRD-II dataset as well as insight for understanding electron precipitation that affects the atmosphere.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2020
- Bibcode:
- 2020AGUFMSM009..06H
- Keywords:
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- 2455 Particle precipitation;
- IONOSPHERE;
- 2716 Energetic particles: precipitating;
- MAGNETOSPHERIC PHYSICS;
- 7867 Wave/particle interactions;
- SPACE PLASMA PHYSICS;
- 7999 General or miscellaneous;
- SPACE WEATHER