Results from the plasma experiments on Aeros
Abstract
The two plasma experiments aboard the Aeros-B satellite determined the main plasma quantities in the height range 220-880 km. These complementary instruments, a retarding potential analyser and an impedance probe, provided the electron and ion temperatures, the main ion constituents, the suprathermal electron flux and the plasma density. This paper summarizes a selection of the obtained results. Comparisons of several quantities with other observations demonstrate the high reliability of the Aeros plasma data. As a contribution to sensor theory a dependence of RPA measurements on the magnetic field vector has been established. The ion temperature and composition turn out to undergo a strong latitudinal variation, the highest hydrogen concentration in the upper atmosphere being located at + or - 20 deg latitude.
- Publication:
-
Journal of Geomagnetism and Geoelectricity
- Pub Date:
- 1979
- Bibcode:
- 1979JGG....31..125D
- Keywords:
-
- Aeronomy;
- Aeros Satellite;
- Isis-B;
- Plasma Diagnostics;
- Satellite Observation;
- Electron Energy;
- Ion Temperature;
- Ionospheric Electron Density;
- Oxygen Ions;
- Plasma Probes;
- Satellite-Borne Instruments;
- Geophysics