Solar flare particle radiation

The characteristics of the solar particles accelerated by solar flares and subsequently observed near the orbit of the earth are studied. Considered are solar particle intensity-time profiles, the composition and spectra of solar flare events, and the propagation of solar particles in interplanetary space. The effects of solar particles at the earth, riometer observations of polar cap cosmic noise absorption events, and the production of solar cell damage at synchronous altitudes by solar protons are also discussed

Synthesis of H2 in dirty ice mantles by fast ion energy loss: New experimental results increase the relevance of this mechanism

Recent experimental results support the importance of H2 production in molecular clouds by cosmic ray bombardment of the mantles of grains. The formation of molecules different from those originally present in the irradiated layer can be explained by the production of molecular fragments induced by the release of energy if the impinging fast particle. One way of considering the process is in terms of a transiently hot cylinder, initially about 50 A in diameter, that exists around the track of an individual fast ion. Since ice has a relatively low thermal conductivity, energy lost by the ion in the ice layers remains confined around the track for time long enough to be thermalized. The hot cylinder increases in diameter and decreases in temperature on a time scale of 10(exp -11) to 10(exp -10) sec. Molecular fragments that are formed in this high temperature region acquire enough mobility to recombine with different partners, forming new molecules. A Monte Carlo simulation of the interaction between cosmic rays and grain mantles, at various depths in the core of a spherical molecular cloud, was performed. The simulation was continued until 40,000 ions had hit each grain of the type and size chosen. During the performed experiments thin icy films made of H2O and CD4 mixed in the gas phase and deposited on a cold finger at 9 K were irradiated with 1.5 MeV helium beams. Among synthesized molecules were found H2, HD, and D2

Latitude dependence of co-rotating shock acceleration

Energetic particle observations in the outer heliosphere (approx 12 A. U.) by the LECP instruments on the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft are discussed that show a definite latitude dependence of the number and intensity of particle enhancements produced by corotating interplanetary regions during an interval when no solar energetic particle events were observed. The particle enhancements are fewer in number and less intense at higher (approx 20 deg.) heliolatitudes. However, the similar spectral shapes of the accelerated particles at the two spacecraft indicate that the acceleration process is the same at the two latitudes, but less intense at the higher latitude

Mid-latitude ionospheric perturbation associated with the Spacelab-2 plasma depletion experiment at Millstone Hill

International audienceElevation scans across geomagnetic mid latitudes by the incoherent scatter radar at Millstone Hill captured the ionospheric response to the firing of the Space Shuttle Challenger OMS thrusters near the peak of the F layer on July 30, 1985. Details of the excitation of airglow and the formation of an ionospheric hole during this event have been reported in an earlier paper by Mendillo et al.. The depletion (factor ~2) near the 320 km Shuttle orbital altitude persisted for ~35 min and then recovered to near normal levels, while at 265 km the density was reduced by a factor of ~6; this significant reduction in the bottomside F-region density persisted for more than 3 hours. Total electron content in the vicinity of the hole was reduced by more than a factor of 2, and an oscillation of the F-region densities with 40-min period ensued and persisted for several hours. Plasma vertical Doppler velocity varied quasi-periodically with a ~80-min period, while magnetic field variations observed on the field line through the Shuttle-burn position exhibited a similar ~80-min periodicity. An interval of magnetic field variations at hydromagnetic frequencies (~95 s period) accompanied the ionospheric perturbations on this field line. Radar observations revealed a downward phase progression of the 40-min period density enhancements of -1.12° km-1, corresponding to a 320-km vertical wavelength. An auroral-latitude geomagnetic disturbance began near the time of the Spacelab-2 experiment and was associated with the imposition of a strong southward IMF Bz across the magnetosphere. This created an additional complication in the interpretation of the active ionospheric experiment. It cannot be determined uniquely whether the ionospheric oscillations, which followed the Spacelab-2 experiment, were related to the active experiment or were the result of a propagating ionospheric disturbance (TID) launched by the enhanced auroral activity. The most reasonable conclusion is that the ionospheric oscillations were a result of the coincident geomagnetic disturbance. The pronounced depletion of the bottomside ionosphere, however, accentuated the oscillatory behavior during the interval following the Shuttle OMS burn

Change in interplanetary shock acceleration preceding STIP Interval 17

The intensity and frequency of shock acceleration events in the interplanetary medium decreased dramatically in early 1985. Low energy ions were observed by IMP 8 at 1 AU and Voyagers 1 and 2 at 22 and 16 AU, respectively. Voyager 1 was at 25 deg heliographic latitude while IMP 8 and Voyager 2 were near the solar equatorial plane. The decrease in low energy shock events led to a drop in the average ion flux by a factor of 20 to 50. It started about day 10 of 1985 in the approximately .5 MeV channel on IMP8 and took approximately 75 days to reach the new, lower, background level. The decrease at the Voyagers started approximately 50 days later. The time delay between the start of the decrease at IMP and at Voyager 2 implies that decrease was convected outward with a velocity of approximately 535 km/sec. The intensity and frequency of interplanetary shock events remained at the lower level for at least 1.5 years

Developing service promises accurate space weather forecasts in the future

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/94931/1/eost10236.pd

Charged particle composition in the inner heliosphere during the rise to maximum of Solar Cycle 23

Flux distributions and abundances relative to oxygen of interplanetary ions (Z>1)(Z>1) are statistically studied and compared for measurements made at 1 and at ∼5 AU on the ACE and the Ulysses spacecraft near the ecliptic plane. Over the nearly two year interval studied, the distributions of the relative abundances and the fluxes of particles at the two locations are found to be approximately log normal. The statistical distributions of the relative abundances are found to be similar at the two helioradii. On a statistical basis, the fluxes at Ulysses times the distance of the measurements appear to be proportional to the fluxes at ACE. This radial dependence of the fluxes is consistent with the interpretation that, statistically, the ion parallel diffusion coefficient is large. © 2000 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87340/2/169_1.pd

Study of the relationship between solar activity and terrestrial weather

Evidence for some connection between weather and solar related phenomena is presented. Historical data of world wide temperature variations with relationship to change in solar luminosity are examined. Several test methods for estimating the statistical significance of such phenomena are discussed in detail

Radiation Formation of a Non-Volatile Crust

Ion irradiation of the outer meters of a cometary surface produces new molecular species in the solid state. Because of the vacuum interfaces these segregate in an irreversible way into a non-volatile residue and new very volatile species, which are lost directly or lost when the comet enters the inner solar system. It is, therefore, likely that a comet exposed to background radiations in the Oort cloud would obtain an outer web of nonvolatile material which will lead to the formation of a substantial 'crust' (~10^2 gm/cm^2). Except for fizzures and break-off of pieces due to warming of subsurface gases, this mantel should be continuously hardened for a periodic comet due, primarily, to thermal processing. There will also be active regions which were shaded from the cosmic ray radiation