Spectral and photometric characteristics of mid-latitude auroras during the magnetic storm of March 17, 2015

We study the spatiotemporal dynamics of mid-latitude aurora from observations in the south of Eastern Siberia during St. Patrick’s severe geomagnetic storm on March 17, 2015. We perform a morphological analysis of characteristics of the observed auroras. A preliminary conclusion is drawn that the analyzed event is the result of the manifestation of mid-latitude auroras of two types (type “d” and SAR arc) and ordinary aurora observed at the northern horizon. The maximum intensity of the dominant emission [OI] at 630.0 nm (~14 kR) allows this mid-latitude aurora to be attributed to the extreme auroras occurring in mid-latitudes, which is second only to the November 20, 2003 superstorm (~19 kR)

Optical effects produced by running onboard engines of low-earth-orbit spacecraft

This paper presents results of optical observations made during Radar-Progress Experiment performed on April 17, 2013 and July 30, 2014 after approach-correction engines (ACE) of Progress M-17M and Progress M-23M cargo spacecraft in the thermosphere had been started. A region of enhanced emission intensity was recorded during engine operation. This may have been related to the scatter of twilight solar emission along the cargo spacecraft exhaust and to the emergence of additional atomic oxygen [OI] emission at 630 nm. The maximum dimension of the observed emission region was ~330–350 km and ~250–270 km along and across the orbit respectively. For the first time after ACE had been started, an expansion rate of emission region was ~ 7 and ~ 3.5 km/s along and across the orbit respectively. The maximum intensity of the disturbance area for Progress M-17M is estimated as ~40–60 R at 2 nm. Progress M-23M Space Experiment recorded a minor disturbance of atmospheric [OI] 630.0 nm emissions, both in near and in far cargo spacecraft flight paths, which might have been associated with the ACE exhaust gas injection

The method of plotting a spatial distribution pattern of the total electron content in the region of artificial airglow of the ionosphere

The method of plotting a spatial distribution pattern of the total electron content (TEC) in the region of artificial airglow of the ionosphere in the red line of the optical spectrum (λ = 630 nm) was developed during the experiments on disturbances of the ionosphere by powerful radio emission of the SURA facility. To test the method, a measurement session on August 29, 2016 from 18:40 to 20:10 UTC, i.e., when the ionospheric and weather conditions varied slightly and allowed simultaneous optical measurements of the artificial airglow of the ionosphere from two spatially separated sites (Vasilsursk near the SURA facility and Magnitka lying ∼ 170 km East of the SURA facility), was selected. As a result of the simultaneous optical measurements, the area of artificial airglow was plotted in a three-dimensional projection and the spatial position of the disturbed region of the ionosphere stimulated by the powerful radio emission of the SURA facility was determined. The method of plotting a spatial pattern of the electron density distribution in the disturbed region of the ionosphere is based on a joint analysis of variations in the TEC on the radio paths “navigation satellite – ground receiving site” for a number of receiving stations of the global navigation satellite systems located within a radius of ∼ 160 km from the SURA facility. By using this method, the values of electron density variations for different spatial cross-sections of the disturbed region of the ionosphere can be obtained. The joint analysis of the experimental data carried out with the help of the method under consideration showed that in the field of the powerful radio wave a disturbed region with the complex structure formed along the magnetic field lines. Plasma inhomogeneities with an increased electron density occurred at the boundaries of the region with a reduced electron concentration. The difference ∆Ne/Ne at the boundaries of the disturbed region, i.e., between the regions with increased and decreased electron density, might reach 10%. The size of the disturbed region is l⊥ ≈ 45 ÷ 60 km across and l|| ≥ 70 km along the Earth's magnetic field lines

Registering upper atmosphere parameters in East Siberia with Fabry–Perot Interferometer KEO Scientific “Arinae”

We describe the Fabry—Perot interfero-meter designed to study Earth’s upper atmosphere. We propose a modification of the existing data processing method for determining the Doppler shift and Doppler widening and also for separating the observed line intensity and the background intensity. The temperature and wind velocity derived from these parameters are compared with physical characteristics obtained from modeling (NRLMSISE-00, HWM14). We demonstrate that the temperature is determined from the oxygen 630 nm line irrespective of the hydroxyl signal existing in interference patterns. We show that the interferometer can obtain temperature from the oxygen 557.7 nm line in case of additional calibration of the device. The observed wind velocity mainly agrees with model data. Night variations in the red and green oxygen lines quite well coincide with those in intensities obtained by devices installed nearby the interferometer

The method of plotting a spatial distribution pattern of the total electron content in the region of artificial airglow of the ionosphere

The method of plotting a spatial distribution pattern of the total electron content (TEC) in the region of artificial airglow of the ionosphere in the red line of the optical spectrum (λ = = 630 nm) was developed during the experiments on disturbances of the ionosphere by powerful radio emission of the SURA facility. To test the method, a measurement session on August 29, 2016 from 18:40 to 20:10 UTC, i.e., when the ionospheric and weather conditions varied slightly and allowed simultaneous optical measurements of the artificial airglow of the ionosphere from two spatially separated sites (Vasilsursk near the SURA facility and Magnitka lying ∼ 170 km East of the SURA facility), was selected. As a result of the simultaneous optical measurements, the area of artificial airglow was plotted in a three-dimensional projection and the spatial position of the disturbed region of the ionosphere stimulated by the powerful radio emission of the SURA facility was determined. The method of plotting a spatial pattern of the electron density distribution in the disturbed region of the ionosphere is based on a joint analysis of variations in the TEC on the radio paths “navigation satellite – ground receiving site” for a number of receiving stations of the global navigation satellite systems located within a radius of ∼ 160 km from the SURA facility. By using this method, the values of electron density variations for different spatial cross-sections of the disturbed region of the ionosphere can be obtained. The joint analysis of the experimental data carried out with the help of the method under consideration showed that in the field of the powerful radio wave a disturbed region with the complex structure formed along the magnetic field lines. Plasma inhomogeneities with an increased electron density occurred at the boundaries of the region with a reduced electron concentration. The difference ∆Ne /Ne at the boundaries of the disturbed region, i.e., between the regions with increased and decreased electron density, might reach 10%. The size of the disturbed region is l⊥ ≈ 45 ÷ 60 km across and l‖ > 70 km along the Earth’s magnetic field lines

Modern heating facility for research into the mid-latitude ionosphere

© Meandros Medical and Dental Journal. The development of new devices for research in physics of the upper atmosphere and near-Earth space, which can be used to carry out controlled experiments on the modification of the ionosphere by powerful short-wave radiation, is an urgent task of modern solar-terrestrial physics, space weather, operation of satellite constellations in near-Earth space, radio communications, and radar. The paper describes a modern heating facility, created within the framework of the National Heliogeophysical Complex of the Russian Academy of Sciences. We review the tasks facing the heater, discuss its main technical characteristics, and describe the capability of the observational infrastructure surrounding the heating facility. The paper justifies the long-term benefits of the development of a heating facility at middle latitudes of Eastern Siberia, which can radiate in a frequency range 2.5-6.0 MHz with an effective power of the order of several hundred megawatts. It is important that the heater will be surrounded by such multifunctional instruments as the modern incoherent scatter radar, mesostratospheric lidar, observational systems that can provide a wide range of possibilities for diagnosing artificial plasma disturbances and artificial airglow structures