Geospace dynamics and the aurora

极光是发生在近地空间的有趣物理过程的美丽表现。由于人们对极光感兴趣：(1)作为一种等离子体物理现象，(2)作为遥感地球空间的工具，以及(3)作为这些动力学的组成部分，40多年来，极光观测一直被视为加拿大空间科学方案的核心重要内容。2000年，卡尔加里大学的研究人员制定了一项大胆的计划，要建造大量高灵敏度、多光谱的全天空成像仪，这些成像仪的视野覆盖加拿大中部和北部的大部分地区。在过去的七年里，这个计划已经成为现实，我们现在在加拿大各地操作着近50台仪器，用来以一种全新的方式成像极光。这项提议是为了资助使用这种新的成像阵列的数据进行科学研究。通过这项研究，我们将探索地球空间动力学以及等离子体物理过程，这些过程不仅对地球空间，而且对天体物理都很重要。这也有实际的好处，因为我们开发了正在工业中使用的新成像技术，并对近地空间环境有了更好的了解。

The aurora is a beautiful manifestation of interesting physical processes that occur in near-Earth space. Due to interest in the aurora (1) as a 6plasma physics phenomenon, (2) as a tool with which to remote sense geospace, and (3) as an integral part of those dynamics, auroral observations have been seen as centrally important to the Canadian space science program for more than four decades. In 2000, researchers at the University of Calgary developed a bold plan to build a vast array of highly sensitive, multi-spectral All-Sky Imagers with overlapping fields of view spanning much of central and northern Canada. Over the last seven years, this plan has become a reality, and we are now operating almost 50 instruments across Canada with which we image the aurora in fundamentally new ways. This proposal is for funding for carrying out science with the data from this new imaging array. With this research, we will be exploring geospace dynamics as well as plasma physical processes that are important not only on geospace, but also astrophysics. There are practical benefits as well, as we develop new imaging techniques that are being utilized in industry and develop a better understanding of the near-Earth space environment.