Several events of high-energy electron (>500 keV) precipitation (HEP) have been observed by sa... more Several events of high-energy electron (>500 keV) precipitation (HEP) have been observed by satellite Coronas-I particle detector on polar cap parts of the orbit. In- vestigation of the ground-based magnetometer and riometer data shows, that HEP do not occur during magnetic storms, but more exactly at the moderate magnetic distur- bances of several day duration. The HEP events were observed on polar cap latitude (>80 degree) usually associated with open magnetotail field lines. Signatures of the magnetic activity reveal clear similarity with auroral oval substorm intensifications. Detail analysis shows that electron fluxes appear in a polar cap after auroral zone sub- storms. Several possible explanations of the high energy electron arrival over polar cap are discussed.
ICESTAR (Interhemispheric Conjugacy Effects in Solar-Terrestrial and Aeronomy Research) is a prog... more ICESTAR (Interhemispheric Conjugacy Effects in Solar-Terrestrial and Aeronomy Research) is a programme coordinating multinational research on Sun-Earth connections. ICESTAR concentrates on magnetospheric and upper atmospheric responses to solar inputs, with a particular focus on inter-hemispheric relationships. Key aspects of our approach include the networking of ground-based instruments, the closely related issue of fostering international collboration, and open web-based access to
The Antarctic Roadmap Challenges (ARC) project identified critical requirements to deliver high p... more The Antarctic Roadmap Challenges (ARC) project identified critical requirements to deliver high priority Antarctic research in the 21st century. The ARC project addressed the challenges of enabling technologies, facilitating access, providing logistics and infrastructure, and capitalizing on international co-operation. Technological requirements include: i) innovative automated in situ observing systems, sensors and interoperable platforms (including power demands), ii) realistic and holistic numerical models, iii) enhanced remote sensing and sensors, iv) expanded sample collection and retrieval technologies, and v) greater cyber-infrastructure to process ‘big data’ collection, transmission and analyses while promoting data accessibility. These technologies must be widely available, performance and reliability must be improved and technologies used elsewhere must be applied to the Antarctic. Considerable Antarctic research is field-based, making access to vital geographical targets ...
ABSTRACT Electron spectrometers use a variety of techniques to determine where the amplified elec... more ABSTRACT Electron spectrometers use a variety of techniques to determine where the amplified electron cloud falls onto a collecting surface. One traditional method divides the collecting surface into sectors and uses a single detector for each sector. However, as the angular and spatial resolution increases, so to do the number of detectors. Thus there is an overall increase in power consumption, cost, and weight of the detector system. An alternative approach connects each sector with a delay line and uses a pair of detectors (e.g., one at each end of the chain). To date, this technique has been implemented using Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) which are expensive to manufacture and have a long lead-time. In this paper, we report on the implementation and testing of a delay line detector using a low-cost Xilinx FPGA. Our technique is scalable to large sector numbers with very little impact on the system cost, mass, or power dissipation. The specifics of both a nine and ten sector delay system will be discussed, together with potential satellite and rocket flight applications.
The NSF Firefly CubeSat is a 3U mission designed to perform cutting-edge science, as a secondary ... more The NSF Firefly CubeSat is a 3U mission designed to perform cutting-edge science, as a secondary payload 1,2. Firefly will be the first dedicated mission launched to study Terrestrial Gamma ray Flashes (TGFs), their link to lightning, and their effect in producing energetic electrons that may become stably trapped in the inner radiation belt. Firefly demonstrates the capability of small missions such as CubeSat to do important, focused science, with maximal student involvement, and with a minimal budget and available resources. This presentation will focus on the Firefly mission design, as well as important lessons learned in the development, testing, and design. Future developments in CubeSatclass spacecraft for measurements of energetic radiation will be discussed.
The open-closed magnetic field line boundary (OCB) is an important indicator of magnetospheric dy... more The open-closed magnetic field line boundary (OCB) is an important indicator of magnetospheric dynamics and can be used to identify locations of particle precipitation at the edge of the magnetosphere. The OCB can fluctuate during geomagnetic events, and the extent of this variability is a vital component of space weather research and modeling. There was a unique opportunity to identify and study the synoptic variability of the OCB during the extended 2007-2009 solar quiet period through use of the Polar Experiment Network for Geophysical Upper-atmosphere Investigations-Automatic Geophysical Observatory (PENGUIn-AGO) network of ground-based fluxgate magnetometers on the Antarctic continent. The fluxgates, which measured the occurrence of standing Pc5 modes on closed field magnetic field lines, allowed for identification of the OCB structure and study of the synoptic behavior of the OCB before and during a corotating interaction region (CIR)-driven magnetic storm. Observations were compared with results from the BATSRUS space weather model and show 83% agreement for over ∼2 days before the CIR event. It is shown that such synoptic magnetometer data sets of the OCB during these storms allow for a careful test of current space weather models. The current study investigates the pre-storm time period, while a future paper will address the storm time evolution of the OCB.
The open-closed magnetic field line boundary (OCB) is an important indicator of magnetospheric dy... more The open-closed magnetic field line boundary (OCB) is an important indicator of magnetospheric dynamics and can be used to identify locations of particle precipitation at the edge of the magnetosphere. The OCB can fluctuate during geomagnetic events, and the extent of this variability is a vital component of space weather research and modeling. There was a unique opportunity to identify and study the synoptic variability of the OCB during the extended 2007-2009 solar quiet period through use of the Polar Experiment Network for Geophysical Upper-atmosphere Investigations-Automatic Geophysical Observatory (PENGUIn-AGO) network of ground-based fluxgate magnetometers on the Antarctic continent. The fluxgates, which measured the occurrence of standing Pc5 modes on closed field magnetic field lines, allowed for identification of the OCB structure and study of the synoptic behavior of the OCB before and during a corotating interaction region (CIR)-driven magnetic storm. Observations were compared with results from the BATSRUS space weather model and show 83% agreement for over ∼2 days before the CIR event. It is shown that such synoptic magnetometer data sets of the OCB during these storms allow for a careful test of current space weather models. The current study investigates the pre-storm time period, while a future paper will address the storm time evolution of the OCB.
ICESTAR and IHY initiatives together with 27 other multinational research projects will form one ... more ICESTAR and IHY initiatives together with 27 other multinational research projects will form one of the core projects of the forthcoming International Polar Year (IPY, March 2007 - March 2009): IPY ID 63 "Heliosphere Impact on Geospace". The project has three main themes in its scientific work: (i) Coupling processes between the different atmospheric layers and their connection with solar
In December 2002, a Versatile Electromagnetic Wave Receiver (VIEW) was deployed at South Pole sta... more In December 2002, a Versatile Electromagnetic Wave Receiver (VIEW) was deployed at South Pole station. This system records HF waveforms continuously for up to 6 hours/day. Summary files are examined weekly by Dartmouth personnel, and interesting time intervals are saved to CD-rom. This interactive experimental method provides extremely high time- and frequency-resolution measurements of auroral radio emissions, while discarding data
ICESTAR and IHY initiatives together with 27 other multinational research projects will form one ... more ICESTAR and IHY initiatives together with 27 other multinational research projects will form one of the core projects of the forthcoming International Polar Year (IPY, March 2007 - March 2009): IPY ID 63 "Heliosphere Impact on Geospace". The project has three main themes in its scientific work: (i) Coupling processes between the different atmospheric layers and their connection with solar
We are in the middle of a cooperative astronomy education project to improve undergraduate labora... more We are in the middle of a cooperative astronomy education project to improve undergraduate laboratories at RPI (a PhD granting institution) and Siena College (a nearby liberal arts college). We have completed an overhaul of a 40-year-old, 16" B&C telescope on the RPI campus, and have made it available for hundreds of students at both schools, and once per week
We are completing a cooperative astronomy education project designed to improve undergraduate lab... more We are completing a cooperative astronomy education project designed to improve undergraduate laboratories at RPI (a PhD granting institution) and Siena College (a nearby liberal arts college). Following the overhaul of a 40-year-old, 16" B&C telescope on the RPI campus, we have made it available for use for hundreds of students at both schools and once per week to the
Several events of high-energy electron (>500 keV) precipitation (HEP) have been observed by sa... more Several events of high-energy electron (>500 keV) precipitation (HEP) have been observed by satellite Coronas-I particle detector on polar cap parts of the orbit. In- vestigation of the ground-based magnetometer and riometer data shows, that HEP do not occur during magnetic storms, but more exactly at the moderate magnetic distur- bances of several day duration. The HEP events were observed on polar cap latitude (>80 degree) usually associated with open magnetotail field lines. Signatures of the magnetic activity reveal clear similarity with auroral oval substorm intensifications. Detail analysis shows that electron fluxes appear in a polar cap after auroral zone sub- storms. Several possible explanations of the high energy electron arrival over polar cap are discussed.
ICESTAR (Interhemispheric Conjugacy Effects in Solar-Terrestrial and Aeronomy Research) is a prog... more ICESTAR (Interhemispheric Conjugacy Effects in Solar-Terrestrial and Aeronomy Research) is a programme coordinating multinational research on Sun-Earth connections. ICESTAR concentrates on magnetospheric and upper atmospheric responses to solar inputs, with a particular focus on inter-hemispheric relationships. Key aspects of our approach include the networking of ground-based instruments, the closely related issue of fostering international collboration, and open web-based access to
The Antarctic Roadmap Challenges (ARC) project identified critical requirements to deliver high p... more The Antarctic Roadmap Challenges (ARC) project identified critical requirements to deliver high priority Antarctic research in the 21st century. The ARC project addressed the challenges of enabling technologies, facilitating access, providing logistics and infrastructure, and capitalizing on international co-operation. Technological requirements include: i) innovative automated in situ observing systems, sensors and interoperable platforms (including power demands), ii) realistic and holistic numerical models, iii) enhanced remote sensing and sensors, iv) expanded sample collection and retrieval technologies, and v) greater cyber-infrastructure to process ‘big data’ collection, transmission and analyses while promoting data accessibility. These technologies must be widely available, performance and reliability must be improved and technologies used elsewhere must be applied to the Antarctic. Considerable Antarctic research is field-based, making access to vital geographical targets ...
ABSTRACT Electron spectrometers use a variety of techniques to determine where the amplified elec... more ABSTRACT Electron spectrometers use a variety of techniques to determine where the amplified electron cloud falls onto a collecting surface. One traditional method divides the collecting surface into sectors and uses a single detector for each sector. However, as the angular and spatial resolution increases, so to do the number of detectors. Thus there is an overall increase in power consumption, cost, and weight of the detector system. An alternative approach connects each sector with a delay line and uses a pair of detectors (e.g., one at each end of the chain). To date, this technique has been implemented using Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) which are expensive to manufacture and have a long lead-time. In this paper, we report on the implementation and testing of a delay line detector using a low-cost Xilinx FPGA. Our technique is scalable to large sector numbers with very little impact on the system cost, mass, or power dissipation. The specifics of both a nine and ten sector delay system will be discussed, together with potential satellite and rocket flight applications.
The NSF Firefly CubeSat is a 3U mission designed to perform cutting-edge science, as a secondary ... more The NSF Firefly CubeSat is a 3U mission designed to perform cutting-edge science, as a secondary payload 1,2. Firefly will be the first dedicated mission launched to study Terrestrial Gamma ray Flashes (TGFs), their link to lightning, and their effect in producing energetic electrons that may become stably trapped in the inner radiation belt. Firefly demonstrates the capability of small missions such as CubeSat to do important, focused science, with maximal student involvement, and with a minimal budget and available resources. This presentation will focus on the Firefly mission design, as well as important lessons learned in the development, testing, and design. Future developments in CubeSatclass spacecraft for measurements of energetic radiation will be discussed.
The open-closed magnetic field line boundary (OCB) is an important indicator of magnetospheric dy... more The open-closed magnetic field line boundary (OCB) is an important indicator of magnetospheric dynamics and can be used to identify locations of particle precipitation at the edge of the magnetosphere. The OCB can fluctuate during geomagnetic events, and the extent of this variability is a vital component of space weather research and modeling. There was a unique opportunity to identify and study the synoptic variability of the OCB during the extended 2007-2009 solar quiet period through use of the Polar Experiment Network for Geophysical Upper-atmosphere Investigations-Automatic Geophysical Observatory (PENGUIn-AGO) network of ground-based fluxgate magnetometers on the Antarctic continent. The fluxgates, which measured the occurrence of standing Pc5 modes on closed field magnetic field lines, allowed for identification of the OCB structure and study of the synoptic behavior of the OCB before and during a corotating interaction region (CIR)-driven magnetic storm. Observations were compared with results from the BATSRUS space weather model and show 83% agreement for over ∼2 days before the CIR event. It is shown that such synoptic magnetometer data sets of the OCB during these storms allow for a careful test of current space weather models. The current study investigates the pre-storm time period, while a future paper will address the storm time evolution of the OCB.
The open-closed magnetic field line boundary (OCB) is an important indicator of magnetospheric dy... more The open-closed magnetic field line boundary (OCB) is an important indicator of magnetospheric dynamics and can be used to identify locations of particle precipitation at the edge of the magnetosphere. The OCB can fluctuate during geomagnetic events, and the extent of this variability is a vital component of space weather research and modeling. There was a unique opportunity to identify and study the synoptic variability of the OCB during the extended 2007-2009 solar quiet period through use of the Polar Experiment Network for Geophysical Upper-atmosphere Investigations-Automatic Geophysical Observatory (PENGUIn-AGO) network of ground-based fluxgate magnetometers on the Antarctic continent. The fluxgates, which measured the occurrence of standing Pc5 modes on closed field magnetic field lines, allowed for identification of the OCB structure and study of the synoptic behavior of the OCB before and during a corotating interaction region (CIR)-driven magnetic storm. Observations were compared with results from the BATSRUS space weather model and show 83% agreement for over ∼2 days before the CIR event. It is shown that such synoptic magnetometer data sets of the OCB during these storms allow for a careful test of current space weather models. The current study investigates the pre-storm time period, while a future paper will address the storm time evolution of the OCB.
ICESTAR and IHY initiatives together with 27 other multinational research projects will form one ... more ICESTAR and IHY initiatives together with 27 other multinational research projects will form one of the core projects of the forthcoming International Polar Year (IPY, March 2007 - March 2009): IPY ID 63 "Heliosphere Impact on Geospace". The project has three main themes in its scientific work: (i) Coupling processes between the different atmospheric layers and their connection with solar
In December 2002, a Versatile Electromagnetic Wave Receiver (VIEW) was deployed at South Pole sta... more In December 2002, a Versatile Electromagnetic Wave Receiver (VIEW) was deployed at South Pole station. This system records HF waveforms continuously for up to 6 hours/day. Summary files are examined weekly by Dartmouth personnel, and interesting time intervals are saved to CD-rom. This interactive experimental method provides extremely high time- and frequency-resolution measurements of auroral radio emissions, while discarding data
ICESTAR and IHY initiatives together with 27 other multinational research projects will form one ... more ICESTAR and IHY initiatives together with 27 other multinational research projects will form one of the core projects of the forthcoming International Polar Year (IPY, March 2007 - March 2009): IPY ID 63 "Heliosphere Impact on Geospace". The project has three main themes in its scientific work: (i) Coupling processes between the different atmospheric layers and their connection with solar
We are in the middle of a cooperative astronomy education project to improve undergraduate labora... more We are in the middle of a cooperative astronomy education project to improve undergraduate laboratories at RPI (a PhD granting institution) and Siena College (a nearby liberal arts college). We have completed an overhaul of a 40-year-old, 16" B&C telescope on the RPI campus, and have made it available for hundreds of students at both schools, and once per week
We are completing a cooperative astronomy education project designed to improve undergraduate lab... more We are completing a cooperative astronomy education project designed to improve undergraduate laboratories at RPI (a PhD granting institution) and Siena College (a nearby liberal arts college). Following the overhaul of a 40-year-old, 16" B&C telescope on the RPI campus, we have made it available for use for hundreds of students at both schools and once per week to the
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Papers by A. Weatherwax