Using the RENU2 rocket and ground based instruments, we show that significant parts of the blue aurora above Svalbard at the time of launch was sunlit aurora. Sunlit aurora occurs when nitrogen molecules are ionised by extreme UV sunlight and subsequently hit by electrons from the Sun, resulting in blue/violet emissions. Understanding the source of an auroral emission gives insight into the interaction between the Sun and the Earths upper atmosphere.
Using the RENU2 rocket and ground based instruments, we show that significant parts of the blue...
Review status: a revised version of this preprint is currently under review for the journal ANGEO.
Observations of sunlit N2+ aurora at high altitudes during the RENU2 flight
Pål Gunnar Ellingsen1,Dag Lorentzen2,3,David Kenward4,Jams H. Hecht5,J. Scott Evans6,Fred Sigernes2,3,and Marc Lessard4Pål Gunnar Ellingsen et al.Pål Gunnar Ellingsen1,Dag Lorentzen2,3,David Kenward4,Jams H. Hecht5,J. Scott Evans6,Fred Sigernes2,3,and Marc Lessard4
Received: 07 Jul 2020 – Accepted for review: 29 Jul 2020 – Discussion started: 03 Aug 2020
Abstract. We present measurements of sunlit aurora during the launch of the Rocket Experiment for Neutral Upwelling 2 (RENU2) on the 13th of December 2015 at 07:34 UT. The in situ auroral conditions coincide with those of sunlit aurora, and were characterised by the 391.4 nm and 427.8 nm N2+ emissions. A correlation between several auroral wavelengths, as measured by a meridian scanning photometer was used to detect sunlit aurora and indirectly neutral upwelling. These results, based on ground data, agree well with the RENU2 measurements recorded during its pass through the sunlit polar cusp. Using data from RENU2 and the solar photon flux, it was found that sunlit aurora was a major part (≈ 40 %) of the observed 427.8 nm emission.
Using the RENU2 rocket and ground based instruments, we show that significant parts of the blue aurora above Svalbard at the time of launch was sunlit aurora. Sunlit aurora occurs when nitrogen molecules are ionised by extreme UV sunlight and subsequently hit by electrons from the Sun, resulting in blue/violet emissions. Understanding the source of an auroral emission gives insight into the interaction between the Sun and the Earths upper atmosphere.
Using the RENU2 rocket and ground based instruments, we show that significant parts of the blue...