Propagation of upstream protons in the near-earth solar wind

Abstract

The propagation of energetic protons (35–1600 keV) from the Earth's magnetosphere to the ISEE-3 spacecraft located about 240 earth radii (R E) upstream in the solar wind is used as a tool to study the interaction between these protons and the solar wind. In this preliminary study we present proton pitch angle distributions seen at different times during the development of upstream events that occur in relatively quiet interplanetary conditions. In general a highly anisotropic sunward flow is seen at the beginning of the events. During the course of the events pitch angle distributions may vary between streaming along the field lines (peaked around 0° pitch angle), a uniform intensity between 0° and 90°, and a peaked distribution around a preferred pitch angle that is often near 90°.