Spectral Evolution of Energetic Neutral Atom Emissions at the Heliospheric Poles as Measured by \u3ci\u3eIBEX\u3c/i\u3e during its First Three Yeras

The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission continues to measure energetic neutral atom (ENA) emissions produced by charge exchange between solar wind (SW) protons and interstellar neutrals at the edge of our heliosphere. Using the first 3 yr of IBEX-Hi ENA measurements (2009-2011), we examined the spectral evolution of ~0.5-6 keV ENAs at the polar regions (above 60°). We found the following: (1) pixels with a characteristic ankle spectra (lower spectral index at higher energies) increase by ~5% in 2010 and ~10% in 2011 compared to 2009. (2) The averaged spectral index in 2011 is smaller than that of 2009. (3) The slope of the ENA spectrum above ~1.7 keV is more variable than the slope below ~1.7 keV. The lower spectral index at higher energies of the spectrum does not appear to be caused by an increase of the ENA production at these energies, but rather from a consistent decrease at lower energies. (4) The decrease in polar ENA fluxes does not correlate significantly with the averaged SW dynamic pressure, back-traced in time to 1 AU along the flow streamlines (originating between 10° and 30° for slow SW, and 60° and 80°for fast SW), assuming these are the respective conditions of ENA progenitors back in time. These results provide insights into the complexity of relating the slow and fast SW contributions to polar ENAs and shed light on how the solar output and the resulting change in the global heliospheric structure possibly affect the heliohealth (HS) populations

Response of Jupiter's auroras to conditions in the interplanetary medium as measured by the Hubble Space Telescope and Juno

We present the first comparison of Jupiter's auroral morphology with an extended, continuous and complete set of near-Jupiter interplanetary data, revealing the response of Jupiter's auroras to the interplanetary conditions. We show that for ∼1-3 days following compression region onset the planet's main emission brightened. A duskside poleward region also brightened during compressions, as well as during shallow rarefaction conditions at the start of the program. The power emitted from the noon active region did not exhibit dependence on any interplanetary parameter, though the morphology typically differed between rarefactions and compressions. The auroras equatorward of the main emission brightened over ∼10 days following an interval of increased volcanic activity on Io. These results show that the dependence of Jupiter's magnetosphere and auroras on the interplanetary conditions are more diverse than previously thought

Overview of the New Horizons Science Payload

The New Horizons mission was launched on 2006 January 19, and the spacecraft is heading for a flyby encounter with the Pluto system in the summer of 2015. The challenges associated with sending a spacecraft to Pluto in less than 10 years and performing an ambitious suite of scientific investigations at such large heliocentric distances (> 32 AU) are formidable and required the development of lightweight, low power, and highly sensitive instruments. This paper provides an overview of the New Horizons science payload, which is comprised of seven instruments. Alice provides spatially resolved ultraviolet spectroscopy. The Ralph instrument has two components: the Multicolor Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC), which performs panchromatic and color imaging, and the Linear Etalon Imaging Spectral Array (LEISA), which provides near-infrared spectroscopic mapping capabilities. The Radio Experiment (REX) is a component of the New Horizons telecommunications system that provides both occultation and radiometry capabilities. The Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) provides high sensitivity, high spatial resolution optical imaging capabilities. The Solar Wind at Pluto (SWAP) instrument measures the density and speed of solar wind particles. The Pluto Energetic Particle Spectrometer Science Investigation (PEPSSI) measures energetic protons and CNO ions. The Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter (VB-SDC) is used to record dust particle impacts during the cruise phases of the mission.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, 1 table; To appear in a special volume of Space Science Reviews on the New Horizons missio

The Advanced Composition Explorer

The Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) was recently selected as one of two new Explorer‐class missions to be developed for launch during the mid‐1990’s ACE will observe particles of solar, interplanetary, interstellar, and galactic origins, spanning the energy range from that of the solar wind (∼1 keV/nucleon) to galactic cosmic ray energies (several hundred MeV/nucleon). Definitive studies will be made of the abundance of nearly all isotopes from H to Zn (1≤Z≤30), with exploratory isotope studies extending to Zr(Z=40). To accomplish this, the ACE payload includes six high‐resolution spectrometers, each designed to provide the optimum charge, mass, or charge‐state resolution in its particular energy range, and each having a geometry factor optimized for the expected flux levels, so as to provide a collecting power a factor of 10 to 1000 times greater than previous or planned experiments. The payload also includes several instruments of standard design that will monitor solar wind and magnetic field conditions and energetic H, He, and electron fluxes. We summarize here the scientific objectives, instrumentation, spacecraft, and mission approach that were defined for ACE during the Phase‐A study period

JUPITER's AURORAL RADIO SPECTRUM

Juno's first perijove science observations were carried out on 27 August 2016. The 90° orbit inclination and 4163 km periapsis altitude provide the first opportunity to explore Jupiter's polar magnetosphere. A radio and plasma wave instrument on Juno called Waves provided a new view of Jupiter's auroral radio emissions from near 10 kHz to ~30 MHz. This frequency range covers the classically named decametric, hectometric, and broadband kilometric radio emissions, and Juno observations showed much of this entire spectrum to consist of V-shaped emissions in frequency-time space with intensified vertices located very close to the electron cyclotron frequency. The proximity of the radio emissions to the cyclotron frequency along with loss cone features in the energetic electron distribution strongly suggests that Juno passed very close to, if not through, one or more of the cyclotron maser instability sources thought to be responsible for Jupiter's auroral radio emissions

Neutral H density at the termination shock: a consolidation of recent results

We discuss a consolidation of determinations of the density of neutral interstellar H at the nose of the termination shock carried out with the use of various data sets, techniques, and modeling approaches. In particular, we focus on the determination of this density based on observations of H pickup ions on Ulysses during its aphelion passage through the ecliptic plane. We discuss in greater detail a novel method of determination of the density from these measurements and review the results from its application to actual data. The H density at TS derived from this analysis is equal to 0.087 \pm 0.022 cm-3, and when all relevant determinations are taken into account, the consolidated density is obtained at 0.09 \pm 0.022 cm-3. The density of H in CHISM based on literature values of filtration factor is then calculated at 0.16 \pm 0.04 cm-3.Comment: Submitted to Space Science Review

Heating of Heavy Ions by Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejection (ICME) Driven Collisionless Shocks

Shock heating and particle acceleration processes are some of the most fundamental physical phenomena of plasma physics with countless applications in laboratory physics, space physics, and astrophysics. This study is motivated by previous observations of non-thermal heating of heavy ions in astrophysical shocks (Korreck et al. 2004). Here, we focus on shocks driven by Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections (ICMEs) which heat the solar wind and accelerate particles. This study focuses specifically on the heating of heavy ions caused by these shocks. Previous studies have focused only on the two dynamically dominant species, H+ and He2+ . This study utilizes thermal properties measured by the Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer (SWICS) aboard the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft to examine heavy ion heating. This instrument provides data for many heavy ions not previously available for detailed study, such as Oxygen (O6+, O7+), Carbon (C5+, C6+), and Iron (Fe10+). The ion heating is found to depend critically on the upstream plasmaComment: accepted Ap

Influence of epoch time selection on the results of superposed epoch analysis using ACE and MPA data

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/94710/1/jgra19440.pd