SM13D-4201:
Electron Precipitation Associated with Small-Scale Auroral Structures
Monday, 15 December 2014
Robert Michell1, Marilia Samara2, Guy Alan Grubbs II3, Donald L Hampton4, John W Bonnell5 and Keiichi Ogasawara1, (1)Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, United States, (2)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (3)University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States, (4)University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, United States, (5)University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
Abstract:
We present results from the Ground-to-Rocket Electrons Electrodynamics Correlative Experiment (GREECE) sounding rocket mission, where we combined high-resolution ground-based auroral imaging with high time-resolution precipitating electron measurements. The GREECE payload successfully launched from Poker Flat, Alaska on 03 March 2014 and reached an apogee of approximately 335 km. The narrow field-of-view auroral imaging was taken from Venetie, AK, which is directly under apogee. This enabled the small-scale auroral features at the magnetic footpoint of the rocket payload to be imaged in detail. The electron precipitation was measured with the Acute Precipitating Electron Spectrometer (APES) onboard the payload. Features in the electron data are matched up with their corresponding auroral structures and boundaries, enabling measurement of the exact electron distributions responsible for the specific small-scale auroral features. These electron distributions will then be used to infer what the potential electron acceleration processes were.
