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| Titel |
Nightside ionosphere of Mars: results from the MARSIS instrument |
| VerfasserIn |
F. Nemec, D. D. Morgan, D. A. Gurnett, M. O. Fillingim, R. J. Lillis, F. Duru |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2012
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 14 (2012) |
| Datensatznummer |
250059558
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| Zusammenfassung |
| We present a study of the nightside ionosphere of Mars based on radar sounding data from
the MARSIS instrument on board the Mars Express spacecraft. Although peak electron
densities on the nightside are below the detection threshold of approximately 1 Ã 104 cm-3
more than 90% of the time, MARSIS can still provide much useful information. Ionospheric
traces measured throughout the duration of the mission are evaluated along with the local
electron density data determined from plasma oscillations in order to obtain the most
complete experimental dataset from the Martian nightside available to date. Although most of
the detected ionospheric reflections correspond to oblique echoes and cannot be used to
derive altitude information, we have identified a few tens that are likely to correspond to
vertical echoes. We have inverted these ionospheric traces, obtaining the corresponding
electron density profiles and, most importantly, altitudes of peak electron density. These
experimental results have been compared with recent numerical models that take
into account electron impact ionization and recombination, using realistic electron
energy and pitch angle distributions and accounting for effects of magnetic fields. |
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