Cosmic ray heavy ion penetration deep into the magnetosphere: Results from S81-1 and CRRES

Abstract

In spite of strong magnetic shielding by the geomagnetic field, small fractions (1–10%) of the total high energy, heavy ion intensities of solar and galactic cosmic rays have been observed at energies below theoretical cutoffs for direct entry into the earth's magnetosphere from interplanetary space. We report on measurements of these heavy ions at 10 to 500 MeV/nucleon by cosmic ray composition experiments on the S81-1 satellite in polar orbit during 1982 and on the CRRES satellite in geosynchronous transfer orbit during 1990–1991.