Coincident ultraviolet imager and energetic particle sensor observations of the continuous electron aurora

Abstract

Coincident observations in the continuous electron aurora by the ultraviolet (UV) imager on the Polar BEAR satellite and the energetic particle detector on the DMSP satellite have been examined for agreement in the energy deposition rates and the location of the equatorward auroral boundary. The energy deposition rates and the boundary location are important parameters for magnetospheric, thermospheric, and ionospheric models. Energetic particle sensors provide an accurate measurement of these quantities, but only along the path of the satellite. Two coincidences from January–February of 1987, when the Polar BEAR satellite collected UV images of the aurora at 136 nm (primarily O 5S o) and 160 nm (N 2 Lyman–Birge–Hopfield bands) while the DMSP satellite measured the electron fluxes, are discussed. For both the energy deposition rates and the boundary location, the UV and energetic particle measurements are in acceptable agreement.