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Low energy neutral atoms in the magnetosphere
Author(s) -
Moore T. E.,
Collier M. R.,
Burch J. L.,
Chornay D. J.,
Fuselier S. A.,
Ghielmetti A. G.,
Giles B. L.,
Hamilton D. C.,
Herrero F. A.,
Keller J. W.,
Ogilvie K. W.,
Peko B. L.,
Quinn J. M.,
Stephen T. M.,
Wilson G. R.,
Wurz P.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2000gl012500
Subject(s) - energetic neutral atom , spacecraft , physics , solar wind , ion , ionosphere , magnetosphere , field of view , atomic physics , plasma , astronomy , remote sensing , optics , geology , nuclear physics , quantum mechanics
We report observations of low energy neutral atoms (LENA) from the solar wind and the ionosphere, obtained by the LENA Imager on the IMAGE spacecraft. The LENA Imager detects and images LENAs arriving at the spacecraft from within a 90° field of view (8° × 8° pixels), swept through 360° every two minutes by spacecraft spin. Neutral atoms arriving at the sensor are converted to negative ions by a conversion surface. The resulting negative ions are separated in energy (3 bins, 10–250 eV) and arrival direction (±45°). They are then accelerated, detected, and time‐of‐flight mass analyzed. The solar wind and the ionosphere both emit measurable neutral atom fluxes, the latter responding rapidly to to variations of the former.