Comparisons of Energetic Electron Observations Between FIREBIRD‐II CubeSats and POES/MetOp Satellites From 2018 to 2020
Abstract Precipitation into the atmosphere is one of the main processes by which high energy electrons trapped in Earth's inner magnetosphere are lost from the system. Precipitating electrons can affect the chemical composition of the atmosphere and provide insight into the complex dynamics of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Space Weather |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024SW004056 |
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| author | I. M. Householder K. A. Duderstadt J. M. Pettit A. T. Johnson C.‐L. Huang A. B. Crew D. M. Klumpar T. Raeder J. G. Sample M. Shumko S. S. Smith H. E. Spence |
| author_facet | I. M. Householder K. A. Duderstadt J. M. Pettit A. T. Johnson C.‐L. Huang A. B. Crew D. M. Klumpar T. Raeder J. G. Sample M. Shumko S. S. Smith H. E. Spence |
| author_sort | I. M. Householder |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Precipitation into the atmosphere is one of the main processes by which high energy electrons trapped in Earth's inner magnetosphere are lost from the system. Precipitating electrons can affect the chemical composition of the atmosphere and provide insight into the complex dynamics of the Van Allen radiation belts. This study compares energetic electron precipitation measurements at low‐Earth‐orbit by the Focused Investigations of Relativistic Electron Burst Intensity, Range, and Dynamics (FIREBIRD‐II) CubeSats with NOAA Polar‐orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) and ESA Meteorological Operational satellite (MetOp) satellites, which are equipped with the Medium‐Energy Proton Electron Detector (MEPED). The analysis considers 51 high quality conjunction events at >300 keV during times of low to moderate geomagnetic activity. The spacecraft capture similar electron flux variability, and FIREBIRD‐II observations fall between POES/MetOp 0° and 90° telescopes, likely a result of FIREBIRD‐II sampling both precipitating and mirrored electrons due to uncertainties in pointing direction. Results demonstrate the value of high‐resolution differential energy observations of electron precipitation by low‐cost CubeSats such as FIREBIRD‐II, especially during periods of low flux. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1175e8965ddb4296bbfc0c353aa7e769 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1542-7390 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Space Weather |
| spelling | doaj-art-1175e8965ddb4296bbfc0c353aa7e7692025-02-01T08:10:32ZengWileySpace Weather1542-73902024-12-012212n/an/a10.1029/2024SW004056Comparisons of Energetic Electron Observations Between FIREBIRD‐II CubeSats and POES/MetOp Satellites From 2018 to 2020I. M. Householder0K. A. Duderstadt1J. M. Pettit2A. T. Johnson3C.‐L. Huang4A. B. Crew5D. M. Klumpar6T. Raeder7J. G. Sample8M. Shumko9S. S. Smith10H. E. Spence11Space Science Center University of New Hampshire Durham NH USASpace Science Center University of New Hampshire Durham NH USANational Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt MD USAPhysics Department Montana State University Bozeman MT USASpace Science Center University of New Hampshire Durham NH USAApplied Physics Laboratory Johns Hopkins University Laurel MD USAPhysics Department Montana State University Bozeman MT USASpace Science Center University of New Hampshire Durham NH USAPhysics Department Montana State University Bozeman MT USAApplied Physics Laboratory Johns Hopkins University Laurel MD USASpace Science Center University of New Hampshire Durham NH USASpace Science Center University of New Hampshire Durham NH USAAbstract Precipitation into the atmosphere is one of the main processes by which high energy electrons trapped in Earth's inner magnetosphere are lost from the system. Precipitating electrons can affect the chemical composition of the atmosphere and provide insight into the complex dynamics of the Van Allen radiation belts. This study compares energetic electron precipitation measurements at low‐Earth‐orbit by the Focused Investigations of Relativistic Electron Burst Intensity, Range, and Dynamics (FIREBIRD‐II) CubeSats with NOAA Polar‐orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) and ESA Meteorological Operational satellite (MetOp) satellites, which are equipped with the Medium‐Energy Proton Electron Detector (MEPED). The analysis considers 51 high quality conjunction events at >300 keV during times of low to moderate geomagnetic activity. The spacecraft capture similar electron flux variability, and FIREBIRD‐II observations fall between POES/MetOp 0° and 90° telescopes, likely a result of FIREBIRD‐II sampling both precipitating and mirrored electrons due to uncertainties in pointing direction. Results demonstrate the value of high‐resolution differential energy observations of electron precipitation by low‐cost CubeSats such as FIREBIRD‐II, especially during periods of low flux.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024SW004056electron precipitationatmospheric ionizationconjunction observations |
| spellingShingle | I. M. Householder K. A. Duderstadt J. M. Pettit A. T. Johnson C.‐L. Huang A. B. Crew D. M. Klumpar T. Raeder J. G. Sample M. Shumko S. S. Smith H. E. Spence Comparisons of Energetic Electron Observations Between FIREBIRD‐II CubeSats and POES/MetOp Satellites From 2018 to 2020 Space Weather electron precipitation atmospheric ionization conjunction observations |
| title | Comparisons of Energetic Electron Observations Between FIREBIRD‐II CubeSats and POES/MetOp Satellites From 2018 to 2020 |
| title_full | Comparisons of Energetic Electron Observations Between FIREBIRD‐II CubeSats and POES/MetOp Satellites From 2018 to 2020 |
| title_fullStr | Comparisons of Energetic Electron Observations Between FIREBIRD‐II CubeSats and POES/MetOp Satellites From 2018 to 2020 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparisons of Energetic Electron Observations Between FIREBIRD‐II CubeSats and POES/MetOp Satellites From 2018 to 2020 |
| title_short | Comparisons of Energetic Electron Observations Between FIREBIRD‐II CubeSats and POES/MetOp Satellites From 2018 to 2020 |
| title_sort | comparisons of energetic electron observations between firebird ii cubesats and poes metop satellites from 2018 to 2020 |
| topic | electron precipitation atmospheric ionization conjunction observations |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024SW004056 |
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