Antarctic Auroral Imaging

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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.