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Evening co‐rotating patches: A new type of aurora observed by high sensitivity all‐sky cameras in Alaska
Author(s) -
Kubota M.,
Nagatsuma T.,
Murayama Y.
Publication year - 2003
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 - 10.1029/2002gl016652
Subject(s) - plasmasphere , local time , sky , night sky , evening , latitude , satellite , low latitude , quiet , ionosphere , magnetosphere , geology , physics , atmospheric sciences , geodesy , geophysics , meteorology , astronomy , plasma , statistics , mathematics , quantum mechanics
We observed an interesting auroral event at Poker Flat Research Range (PFRR, MLAT ∼65.5°) using an all‐sky imaging system. This aurora, which appeared in the evening (16–19 MLT) during a geomagnetically quiet period, maintained its patch structure and position for more than 40 minutes. These patches were distinct in OI 557.7‐nm and N 2 + 427.8‐nm emissions. At this time, PFRR was located at a lower latitude region than the auroral oval. An extended plasmasphere was observed a few hours beforehand with the Akebono satellite in the afternoon sector. This evidence suggests that the particles causing this aurora precipitate from the extended duskside plasmasphere. We believe that the imaging observation from the ground using our technique is an effective method for investigating dynamics around the plasmapause, a still partially‐unexplored region of space.