Dartmouth Events

Physics and Astronomy Colloquium - Professor Harlan Spence, UNH

Title: "Progress in Understanding Earth’s Radiation Belts: Recent Results from the NASA Van Allen Probes and the NSF FIREBIRD Missions"

Friday, February 27, 2015
3:30pm – 4:30pm
Wilder 104
Intended Audience(s): Public
Categories: Lectures & Seminars

Abstract: NASA’s Van Allen Probes began its two-year prime science mission phase
following its launch into the inner magnetosphere in August 2012.
Designed to study and understand radiation belt structure and dynamics
“ideally to the point of predictability”, the dual-spacecraft Van Allen
Probes mission comprises a comprehensive suite of charged particle and
fields measurements needed to achieve closure on critical science
questions.  The Radiation Belt Storm Probes – Energetic Particle,
Composition, and Thermal Plasma (RBSP-ECT) suite consists of three
primary instrument types that collectively provide clean, robust
measurements of the electrons and key ions in the inner magnetosphere,
with high energy spectral and pitch angle resolution, spanning energy
ranges covering the cold/warm plasmasphere populations, the hot ring
current populations, the medium-energy electron “seed” population, as
well as the core relativistic and ultra-relativistic radiation belt
populations.  The Van Allen Probes orbit near the magnetic equator,
optimized for probing the source regions of particle acceleration and at
a location through which virtually all particles must pass.  However,
because the atmospheric loss cone is so small at the magnetic equator,
even such an ambitious mission cannot completely explore atmospheric
loss process without additional measurements near the atmosphere.  In a
complimentary fashion, NSF’s Focused Investigation of Relativistic
Electron Burst Intensity Range and Dynamics (FIREBIRD) mission orbits at
low altitudes, measuring radiation belt electrons precipitating into the
atmosphere with two identically instrumented CubeSats.  FIREBIRD was
launched in late January 2015 when it began probing the spatial-temporal
variability of radiation belt electron precipitation. In this
presentation, we provide a summary of the science accomplishments from
the combined RBSP-ECT instrument suite and FIREBIRD missions, with a
focus on radiation belt loss processes, particularly to the atmosphere
as well as their ultimate impacts.

For more information, contact:
Tressena Manning
603-646-2854

Events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.