Antarctic Auroral Imaging

提议的工作将改进南极现有的4通道全天照相机，以观测几种类型的极光，并将尖端重连极光与正常的等离子体片降水区分开来。摄像机将在四个波长区域同时工作，从而区分由高能电子（1kev）产生的极光和由低能电子（500ev）沉淀产生的极光。尖点是等离子体通过磁重联过程进入磁层的位置。这种重联发生在行星际磁场（IMF）和地球磁场方向相反的地方。利用IMAGE（磁层顶到极光全球探测成像仪）卫星的紫外光学数据，已经表明在不同的区域可以看到尖峰降水，这取决于IMF的方向。南极站在光学观测极光的位置上是独一无二的，因为在南方冬季有24小时的黑暗，而且在全天照相机的视野内出现了极光椭圆形。

The proposed work would modify an existing 4-channel all-sky camera at South Pole in order to observe several types of auroras, and to distinguish the cusp reconnection aurora from the normal plasma sheet precipitation. The camera will simultaneously operate in four wavelength regions that allow a distinction between auroras that are created by higher energy electrons ( 1 keV) and those created by low energy (500 eV) precipitation. The cusp is the location where plasma enters the magnetosphere through the process of magnetic reconnection. This reconnection occurs where the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) and the terrestrial magnetic field are oriented in opposite directions. Using the IMAGE (Imager for Magnetopause to Aurora Global Exploration) satellite ultraviolet optical data it has been shown that cusp precipitation can be seen in different regions, which depend on the orientation of the IMF. South Pole station is uniquely located for optical observations of the aurora because of the 24 hours of darkness during austral winter and the appearance of the auroral oval within the field of view of all-sky cameras.