Balloons in the Earth's Auroral Science—BALBOA's Modern Exploration

Zhou, X.; Rafol, Sir B.; Michell, R.; Hampton, D. L.; Geach, Christopher; Berk, Alexander; Lummerzheim, D.; He, Yanzhang

doi:10.1029/2019ja027603

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Rees et al 2000;Pallamraju and Chakrabarti 2005). Another important aspect of N + 2 (M) is that it is considered as a target wavelength for sunlit auroral observations from stratospheric balloons (Zhou et al 2020) Correlation coefficients between the N + 2 intensity and the squared electron density as a function of altitudes. (c) A scatter plot for 110-km altitude in the same format as (a).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The first simultaneous spectroscopic and monochromatic imaging observations of short-wavelength infrared aurora of N2+ Meinel (0,0) band at 1.1 μm with incoherent scatter radar

Nishiyama,

Kagitani,

Furutachi

et al. 2023

Preprint

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This study presents a first simultaneous observation of N2+ Meinel (0,0) band (hereafter, N2+(M)) aurora by cutting-edge short wavelength infrared imaging spectrograph (NIRAS-2) and monochromatic camera (NIRAC) installed at Kjell Henriksen Observatory (78ºN, 16ºE). On January 21 2023, N2+(M) intensification of associated with a band-shape aurora structure was observed by the NIRAS-2 and the NIRAC by temporal resolutions of 30 seconds and 20 seconds, respectively. Additionally, the European incoherent scatter Svalbard Radar also observed electron density variations at the same time. Electron density measured at altitude ranges from 100 km 120 km changed in the same way as N2+ (M) intensity, which implies that a primary source of N2+ (M) emissions is direct collisions of N2 by precipitating electrons penetrating down to around 100 km altitude (up to 10 keV). However, the observation also demonstrated moderate correlations between N2+ (M) intensity and electron density above 140 km, which implies that different N2+(M) generation process, N2 charge exchange with O+, may work up to near 160 km and make a non-negligible contribution to N2+(M) emissions. This hypothesis would be verified with further radar observations or stereo imaging observations useful to estimate the vertical distribution of the emission layers. The N2+ (M) is a very promising target wavelength for aurora observation because the quality of sensors is highly expected to improve further and further. Continuous observations with our new instruments will undoubtedly provide an important information of N2+ (M) characteristics, for future missions of both balloon-borne and satellite-borne imaging.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The first simultaneous spectroscopic and monochromatic imaging observations of short-wavelength infrared aurora of N2+ Meinel (0,0) band at 1.1 μm with incoherent scatter radar

Nishiyama,

Kagitani,

Furutachi

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…When preparing for an LDB flight, it is often necessary to estimate the range of trajectories the payload may take. For example, thermal modeling depends on the elevation of the sun, which depends on latitude; 8 for astrophysical experiments, regions of the sky available for observation depend on payload location; 7 and the trajectory of the flight will influence the strength and frequency of balloon-based observations of aurora 9 and of polar mesospheric clouds. 10 In all cases, more efficient mission planning and real-time response can be made with higher confidence constraints on the trajectory of the payload.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trajectories of long duration balloons launched from McMurdo Station in Antarctica

Geach

Hanany

Tan

et al. 2021

J. Astron. Telesc. Instrum. Syst.

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The Columbia Scientific Ballooning Facility operates stratospheric balloon flights out of McMurdo Station in Antarctica. We use balloon trajectory data from 40 flights between 1991 and 2020 to give the first quantification of trajectory statistics. We provide the probabilities as a function of time for the payload to be between given latitudes, and we quantify the southernmost and northernmost latitudes a payload is likely to attain. We find that for a flight duration of 18 days, there is 90% probability the balloon would drift as far south as 88°S or as far north as 71°S; shorter flights are likely to experience smaller ranges in latitude. These statistics, which are available digitally in the public domain, will enable scientists planning future balloon flights to make informed decisions during both mission design and execution. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

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The first simultaneous spectroscopic and monochromatic imaging observations of short-wavelength infrared aurora of $$\mathrm {N_{2}^{+}}$$ Meinel (0,0) band at 1.1 $$\mathrm {\mu }$$m with incoherent scatter radar

Nishiyama,

Kagitani,

Furutachi

et al. 2024

Earth Planets Space

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This study presents a first simultaneous observation of $$\mathrm {N_{2}^{+}}$$ N 2 + Meinel (0,0) band (hereafter, $$\mathrm {N_{2}^{+}}$$ N 2 + (M)) aurora by cutting-edge short-wavelength infrared imaging spectrograph (NIRAS-2) and monochromatic camera (NIRAC) installed at the Kjell Henriksen Observatory (78$$^\circ$$ ∘ N, 16$$^\circ$$ ∘ E). On January 21 2023, $$\mathrm {N_{2}^{+}}$$ N 2 + (M) intensification that is associated with a band-shape aurora structure was observed by the NIRAS-2 and the NIRAC having temporal resolutions of 30 s and 20 s, respectively. In addition, the European incoherent scatter Svalbard Radar also observed electron density variations at the same time. Electron density measured at altitude range from 100 km 120 km shows similar variations as of $$\mathrm {N_{2}^{+}}$$ N 2 + (M) intensity, which implies that a primary source of $$\mathrm {N_{2}^{+}}$$ N 2 + (M) emissions is direct collisions of $$\mathrm {N_{2}}$$ N 2 by precipitating electrons penetrating down to around 100 km altitude (up to 10 keV). However, the observation also demonstrated moderate correlations between $$\mathrm {N_{2}^{+}}$$ N 2 + (M) intensity and electron density above 140 km, which implies that different $$\mathrm {N_{2}^{+}}$$ N 2 + (M) generation process, $$\mathrm {N_2}$$ N 2 charge exchange with $$\mathrm {O^{+}}$$ O + , may work up to near 160 km and make a non-negligible contribution to $$\mathrm {N_{2}^{+}}$$ N 2 + (M) emissions. This hypothesis would be verified with further radar observations or stereo imaging observations useful to estimate the vertical distribution of the emission layers. The $$\mathrm {N_{2}^{+}}$$ N 2 + (M) is a very promising target wavelength for aurora observation because the quality of sensors is highly expected to improve further and further. Continuous observations with our new instruments will undoubtedly provide an important information of $$\mathrm {N_{2}^{+}}$$ N 2 + (M) characteristics, for future missions of both balloon-borne and satellite-borne imaging. Graphical Abstract

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Balloons in the Earth's Auroral Science—BALBOA's Modern Exploration

Cited by 3 publications

References 44 publications

The first simultaneous spectroscopic and monochromatic imaging observations of short-wavelength infrared aurora of N2+ Meinel (0,0) band at 1.1 μm with incoherent scatter radar

The first simultaneous spectroscopic and monochromatic imaging observations of short-wavelength infrared aurora of N2+ Meinel (0,0) band at 1.1 μm with incoherent scatter radar

Trajectories of long duration balloons launched from McMurdo Station in Antarctica

The first simultaneous spectroscopic and monochromatic imaging observations of short-wavelength infrared aurora of $$\mathrm {N_{2}^{+}}$$ Meinel (0,0) band at 1.1 $$\mathrm {\mu }$$m with incoherent scatter radar

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