Abstract.We describe the Fabry-Perot interferometer designed to study Earth's upper atmosphere. We propose a modification of the existing data processing method for determining the Doppler shift and Doppler widening and also for separating the observed line intensity and the background intensity. The temperature and wind velocity derived from these parameters are compared with physical characteristics obtained from modeling (NRLMSISE-00, HWM14). We demonstrate that the temperature is determined from the oxygen 630 nm line irrespective of the hydroxyl signal existing in interference patterns. We show that the interferometer can obtain temperature from the oxygen 557.7 nm line in case of additional calibration of the device. The observed wind velocity mainly agrees with model data. Night variations in the red and green oxygen lines quite well coincide with those in intensities obtained by devices installed nearby the interferometer.

We study the spatiotemporal dynamics of mid-latitude aurora from observations in the south of Eastern Siberia during St. Patrick’s severe geomagnetic storm on March 17, 2015. We perform a morphological analysis of characteristics of the observed auroras. A preliminary conclusion is drawn that the analyzed event is the result of the manifestation of mid-latitude auroras of two types (type “d” and SAR arc) and ordinary aurora observed at the northern horizon. The maximum intensity of the dominant emission [OI] at 630.0 nm (~14 kR) allows this mid-latitude aurora to be attributed to the extreme auroras occurring in mid-latitudes, which is second only to the November 20, 2003 superstorm (~19 kR).

Институт солнечно-земной физики СО РАН, Иркутск, Россия, mikhalev@iszf.irk.ru А.Б. БелецкийИнститут солнечно-земной физики СО РАН, Иркутск, Россия, beletsky@iszf.irk.ru Р.В. ВасильевИнститут солнечно-земной физики СО РАН, Иркутск, Россия, roman_vasilyev@iszf.irk.ru Г.А. ЖеребцовИнститут солнечно-земной физики СО РАН, Иркутск, Россия, gaz@iszf.irk.ru С.В. ПодлесныйИнститут солнечно-земной физики СО РАН, Иркутск, Россия, step8907@mail.ru М.А. ТащилинИнститут солнечно-земной физики СО РАН, Иркутск, Россия, miketash@iszf.irk.ru М.Ф. АртамоновИнститут солнечно-земной физики СО РАН, Иркутск, Россия, artamonov.maksim@iszf.irk.ru Аннотация. Исследована пространственновременная динамика среднеширотного сияния по данным наблюдений на юге Восточной Сибири в ходе большой геомагнитной бури Святого Патрика 17 марта 2015 г. Выполнен морфологический анализ характеристик наблюдаемого сияния. Сделан предварительный вывод, что анализируемое событие является результатом проявления двух форм среднеширотных сияний (тип «d» и SAR-дуга) и обычного полярного сияния, наблюдавшегося у северного горизонта. Максимальная интенсивность доминирующей эмиссии [OI] 630.0 нм (~14 кРл) позволяет отнести данное среднеширотное сияние к экстремальным сияниям, наблюдавшимся в средних широтах, которое уступает лишь сиянию во время супербури 20 ноября 2003 г. (~19 кРл).Ключевые слова: геомагнитная буря, среднеширотное сияние, спектры среднеширотного сияния, авроральные эмиссии 557.7 и 630.0 нм. Abstract.We study the spatiotemporal dynamics of mid-latitude aurora from observations in the south of Eastern Siberia during St. Patrick's severe geomagnetic storm on March 17, 2015. We perform a morphological analysis of characteristics of the observed auroras. A preliminary conclusion is drawn that the analyzed event is the result of the manifestation of mid-latitude auroras of two types (type "d" and SAR arc) and ordinary aurora observed at the northern horizon. The maximum intensity of the dominant emission [OI] at 630.0 nm (~14 kR) allows this mid-latitude aurora to be attributed to the extreme auroras occurring in midlatitudes, which is second only to the November 20, 2003 superstorm (~19 kR).Keywords: geomagnetic storm, mid-latitude aurora, spectrum of mid-latitude aurora, 557.7 and 630.0 nm emissions.A.V. Mikhalev, A.B. Beletsky, R.V. Vasilyev, G.A. Zherebtsov, С.В. Подлесный, М.А. Тащилин, М.Ф. Артамонов S.V. Podlesny, M.A. Tashchilin, M.F. Artamonov

Studies of the upper atmosphere have to be performed using optical photometric and spectrometric means. Modern devices allow precise photometry of the glow of the night atmosphere — airglow — with high temporal spatial and spectral resolution. As a result, the obtained airglow parameters make it possible to determine the physicochemical properties of the upper atmosphere and observe their variation under the influence of various factors. The National Heliogeophysical Complex, which is being created in Eastern Siberia, is therefore to include a certain set of modern optical instruments. The paper presents the main phenomena that will be investigated by the optical instruments of the complex, provides information on their composition and scientific goals, presents the results of preliminary studies performed using a prototype of the instruments. As a result of the studies, the presence of a significant (about 10 m/sec) vertical wind at various altitudes (100 and 250 km) was established, the importance of taking into account the vertical wind to study the vertical dynamics of the charged component was demonstrated. The long-term dynamics of the vertical wind at an altitude of about 100 km has a pronounced seasonal variations and the absence of diurnal variations, whereas the dynamics of the vertical wind at an altitude of 250 km has a pronounced diurnal variations, which is mostly clearly defined in winter. This suggests the presumed presence of vertical circulation cells at various altitude levels. The possibilities of optical stereoscopy and differential image analysis methods are demonstrated, as applied to the study of fast luminous formations and conducting active ground and space experiments to modify Earth's ionosphere. We report the results of the determination of a three-dimensional picture of a long-lived meteor track with the use of two wide-angle cameras. We propose an algorithm that allows us to get a stereo image of events occurring in the upper atmosphere, recorded simultaneously from different observation points. The joint work of the tools of this complex and the development of cooperation with third-party organizations are shown to be a good enough direction for further study of the vertical dynamics of Earth’s upper atmosphere and space weather phenomena.