Open AccessSource region of 1500 MLT auroral bright spots: Simultaneous Polar UV‐images and DMSP particle data
Author(s) -
Liou K.,
Newell P. T.,
Meng C.I.,
Sotirelis T.,
Brittnacher M.,
Parks G.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/1999ja900290
Subject(s) - plasma sheet , polar , defense meteorological satellite program , latitude , geomagnetic latitude , electron precipitation , northern hemisphere , geology , geophysics , plasma , earth's magnetic field , ionosphere , physics , atmospheric sciences , magnetosphere , astronomy , magnetic field , geodesy , quantum mechanics
We compare auroral images from the Polar ultraviolet imager (UVI) and simultaneous particle observations from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) in the afternoon (1300 – 1600 MLT) sector along the oval in the northern hemisphere to determine the magnetospheric source region of postnoon auroral bright spots. Auroral bright spots are determined with Polar UVI, while their magnetospheric source regions are determined from DMSP F13 particle data. A total of 65 events of good temporal and spatial coincidence were identified after searching through over 1 year of data, from April 1996 to June 1997. Instances occur of auroral arcs mapping to each of several different regions, including the plasma sheet, the low‐latitude boundary layer, and the plasma mantle. However, our results indicate that ∼2/3 of the time the most prominent auroral arcs are associated with plasma sheet electron precipitation and slightly less than 1/3 of the time they are found to occur near (less than 1° in magnetic latitudes) the boundary between the plasma sheet and other regions.