Abstract
THE purpose of this communication is to show that the southern edge of the auroral belt (the latitudinal range over which aurorae occur at a given time and longitude) can be reliably tracked by radio means. With the multi-frequency high-frequency system used at College, Alaska, the auroral belt can be tracked from overhead at 65° to above 80° north latitude. This wide coverage is possible because the high-frequency system utilizes ordinary ionospheric reflexion to extend the northern limit of detection, and normal E and F layer refraction to produce perpendicularity between the wave and the geomagnetic field. The very-high-frequency auroral radar, on the other hand, can detect only those aurorally associated scatterers located in the E layer near the relatively limited region where the line of sight is normal to the geomagnetic field.
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References
Chamberlain, J. W., Physics of the Aurora and Airglow, International Geophysics Series, 2 (Academic Press, New York, and London, 1961).
Leonard, R. S., Romick, G. J., and Belon, A. E. Paper presented at Comm. III, URSI, Austin, Texas (October, 1961).
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Bates, H. F. (submitted for publication to J. Geophys. Res.).
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BATES, H., BELON, A., ROMICK, G. et al. Continuous Observation of the Auroral Belt by Means of Radio. Nature 207, 1081–1082 (1965). https://doi.org/10.1038/2071081a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2071081a0
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