Engineering topics

Potemra, Thomas A.

Publications and source records attributed to Potemra, Thomas A..

5 records

NASA NTRS1992

Space plasma physics at the Applied Physics Laboratory over the past half-century

An overview is given of space-plasma experiments conducted at the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) at Johns Hopkins University including observational campaigns and the instrumentation developed. Specific space-plasma experiments discussed include the study of the radiation environment in the Van Allen radiation belt with solid-state proton detectors. Also described are the 5E-1 satellites which acquired particle and magnetic-field data from earth orbit. The Triad satellite and its magnetometer system were developed for high-resolution studies of the earth's magnetic field, and APL contributions to NASA's Interplanetary Monitoring Platforms are listed. The review mentions the International Ultraviolet Explorer, the Atmosphere Explorer mission, and the Active Magnetic Particle Tracer Explorers mission. Other recent programs reviewed include a high-latitude satellite, contributions to the Voyager mission, and radar studies of space plasmas.

Potemra, Thomas A.↗

NASA NTRS1992

The dynamic cusp at low altitudes: A case study combining Viking, DMSP, and Sondrestrom incoherent scatter radar observations

A case study involving data from three satellites and a ground-based radar are presented. Focus is on a detailed discussion of observations of the dynamic cusp made on 24 Sep. 1986 in the dayside high-latitude ionosphere and interior magnetosphere. The relevant data from space-borne and ground-based sensors is presented. They include in-situ particle and field measurements from the DMSP-F7 and Viking spacecraft and Sondrestrom radar observations of the ionosphere. These data are augmented by observations of the IMF and the solar wind plasma. The observations are compared with predictions about the ionospheric response to the observed particle precipitation, obtained from an auroral model. It is shown that observations and model calculations fit well and provide a picture of the ionospheric footprint of the cusp in an invariant latitude versus local time frame. The combination of Viking, Sondrestrom radar, and IMP-8 data suggests that we observed an ionospheric signature of the dynamic cusp. Its spatial variation over time which appeared closely related to the southward component of the IMF was monitored.

Watermann, Jurgen↗

NASA NTRS1991

Report of the magnetospheric physics panel

Magnetospheric research is a relatively new area in the study of the Earth's environment. The present report attempts to overview past and future research on this topic. The goals of magnetospheric research are numerous, and include: understanding large scale magnetospheres of the Earth and other planets; understanding the plasma physical processes operating within the various magnetospheres; to understand how mass, energy and momentum are transmitted from the solar wind; to understand quantitatively the coupling between magnetospheres and their ionospheres; and to understand the magnetospheric mechanisms which accelerate particles to high energies, as well as the ultimate fate of these particles. The report continues on to summarize a number of proposed space missions aimed at data acquisition. Finally, there is a brief discussion of the theory and modeling of magnetospheres.

Burch, James L.↗

NASA NTRS1990

The AMPTE lithium releases in the solar wind - A possible trigger for geomagnetic pulsations

Shortly after the AMPTE/IRM satellite had released Lithium ions into the solar wind, magnetometers on the ground and in the frontside magnetosphere observed deflections of a type similar to those associated with solar wind pressure pulses. Since the natural solar wind was very stable during this event and did not exhibit pressure changes, the magnetic deflections have likely been caused by the artificially injected Lithium cloud when it hit the magnetosphere. Order of magnitude estimates show that 300 g of Lithium vapor released in the solar wind are indeed able to produce a 300 nT magnetic deflection on the ground under favorable conditions.

Luehr, Hermann↗

NASA NTRS1986

The Viking satellite program - Preliminary results from the APL Magnetic Field Experiment

Sweden's Viking satellite, launched in February 1986, has been conducting plasma process observations in the earth magnetosphere and auroral regions; the U.S.-supplied APL Magnetic Field Experiment aboard Viking is used to determine field-aligned Birkeland current characteristics in previously unsampled regions of near-earth space. The Magnetic Field Experiment has an equivalent spatial resolution of 12 m in the auroral ionosphere when making measurements near apogee. The purposes of Viking's other instruments and their relationship to the Magnetic Field Experiment are discussed.

Potemra, Thomas A.↗