2018
Ref: CTALK-2018-0064

The detection of ultra-relativistic electrons in low Earth orbit by the LYRA instrument on board the PROBA2 satellite

Katsiyannis, Athanassios C. ; Dominique, Marie ; Pierrard, Viviane ; Lopez Rosson, Graciela


Talk presented at European Space Weather Week 15, Leuven on 2018-11-09

Abstract: We present the analysis of energetic electrons, indirectly detected at an altitude of ~700 km by the Large Yield RAdiometer (LYRA) instrument on board ESA's Project for On-board Autonomy 2 (PROBA2) satellite in the form of microbursts of <10 ms, with a phenomenon duration of 100 s. Combining Energetic Particle Telescope (EPT) observations with LYRA data for an overlapping period of time, we identified these particles as electrons with an energy range of 2 to 8 MeV. The observed events are strongly correlated to geo-magnetic activity and appear even during modest disturbances. Additionally, they are well confined geographically within the L=4-6 McIlwain zones, and they show a prominent dawn-dusk asymmetry. A combination of various magnetospheric mechanisms is proposed as a starting point towards a full quantitative explanation.

Links: link
Funding: 2STCE_PHYSSOL/2STCE_PHYSSOL/2STCE_PHYSSOL


The record appears in these collections:
Conference Contributions & Seminars > Conference Talks > Contributed Talks
Royal Observatory of Belgium > Solar Physics & Space Weather (SIDC)
Solar-Terrestrial Centre of Excellence



 Record created 2018-09-19, last modified 2018-09-20