Plasma density mapping in the solar wind through use of VHF radio to measure electron content
Abstract
How the electron content between the Solar probe and the earth can be observed with a minimum of equipment and give a quantitative rationale for the use of a signal near 400 MHz to supplement the telecommunications signal is described. The emphasis is on the method of making content observations and on their value. While far from the Sun, the electron content is so low that the S-X dual-frequency system is insufficiently sensitive and a UHF system is optimum. As the probe approaches the Sun, the UHF may be disrupted by scintillation and the variations of the telecommunications signal must be used for the content measurement. By operating the suggested system in different modes as the solar distance changes, operation during the entire mission is possible.
- Publication:
-
A Close-up of the Sun
- Pub Date:
- September 1978
- Bibcode:
- 1978clus.nasa..397C
- Keywords:
-
- Plasma Density;
- Solar Wind;
- Very High Frequency Radio Equipment;
- Electron Density (Concentration);
- Mapping;
- Solar Probes;
- Spacecraft Design;
- Systems Analysis;
- Solar Physics