Articles | Volume 44, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-44-209-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-44-209-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Regular paper
| 
16 Mar 2026
Regular paper |
| 16 Mar 2026
| 16 Mar 2026
The impact of electron precipitation on Earth's thermospheric NO production and the drag of LEO satellites
Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz, Austria
Sandro Krauss
Institute of Geodesy, Technical University, Graz, Austria
Grigory Tsurikov
Institute of Astronomy, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation
Andreas Strasser
Institute of Geodesy, Technical University, Graz, Austria
Valery Shematovich
Institute of Astronomy, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation
Dmitry Bisikalo
National Center of Physics and Mathematics, Sarov, Russian Federation
Institute of Astronomy, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation
Helmut Lammer
Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz, Austria
Manuel Güdel
Department of Astrophysics, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Christian Möstl
Austrian Space Weather Office, GeoSphere Austria, Graz, Austria
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Mohammed Y. Boudjada, Hans U. Eichelberger, Emad Al-Haddad, Werner Magnes, Patrick H. M. Galopeau, Xuemin Zhang, Andreas Pollinger, and Helmut Lammer
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Short summary
We model the structure of the thermosphere for two space weather events that affected satellite orbits. Based on the Sun's irradiation, we simulate atmospheric density profiles and feed them into a model that calculates the influence of precipitating electrons on nitrogen oxide production in the atmosphere. Our results underscore the importance of considering both solar irradiance and particle precipitation to understand and predict space weather effects on the atmosphere and satellite orbits.
We model the structure of the thermosphere for two space weather events that affected satellite...
