Preliminary results of a low‐energy particle survey at synchronous altitude

A preliminary analysis of the data from the first few weeks of operation of the Lockheed auroral particles experiment on ATS 5 has revealed some interesting characteristics of the low-energy particle environment at synchronous altitude during magnetically quiet times. The most prominent feature of the data is the occurrence of enhanced electron fluxes during local night in association with magnetic bay activity as observed on ground magnetograms. A tentative description of some of the ‘signatures’ of these magnetospheric substorm events is presented, based on the limited body of data that has currently been analyzed. The results of a preliminary statistical study of some of the electron plasma properties are compared with published data from a low-altitude polar satellite and with measurements made deep in the magnetospheric tail. The results are consistent with a model of magnetospheric convection in which auroral electrons are adiabatically compressed as they are convected inward and do not suggest the need for additional acceleration mechanisms to account for the average energization of the auroral electrons.

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