Moon‐based EUV imaging of the Earth's Plasmasphere: Model simulations

Abstract

The EUV imager on board the Chang'E‐3 lunar lander will image the Earth's plasmasphere from a lunar perspective to focus on some of the open questions in plasmaspheric researches (i.e., global structures, erosion, and refilling of plasmasphere). In order to achieve the understanding of the plasmaspheric dynamics in relation to these EUV images in lunar perspective, the He+ 30.4 nm emission intensities and global structures of the plasmasphere viewed from the moon are investigated using a dynamic global core plasma model embedded with TS07 magnetic field model and W05 electric field model. Two typical storms observed by the IMAGE EUV imager are systematically simulated from the perspectives of the moon. It is found from the simulations that the maximum emission intensity of the plasmasphere is ~12.3 R which is greater than that detected from polar orbit, and the global shapes and temporal evolutions of large‐scale plasmaspheric structures (plasmapause, shoulder, and plume) also have different patterns in moon‐based simulated images. It is also shown that the plasmaspheric structures extracted from moon‐based EUV images are in agreement with those from IMAGE EUV images. Systematic simulations demonstrate that specific latitudinal distribution of the plasmaspheric structures can only be imaged at specific positions in lunar orbit. It is expected that this investigation provides us with an overall understanding on moon‐based EUV images and helps to identify the plasmaspheric structures and evolution patterns in future moon‐based EUV imaging.