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22 November 2000: First LENA Paper Accepted by Geophysical Research Letters
The first journal paper focused on science results from LENA was recently accepted by Geophysical Research Letters. It is entitled: "Low Energy Neutral Atoms in the Magnetosphere", and provides an overview of the types of observations being routinely made by the LENA imager, including observations of the solar wind from inside the magnetosphere, and of the prompt ionospheric outflow response to solar wind enhancements produced by solar CMEs. • 7-8 November 2000: LENA Software Featured at GSFC Workshop on Data ProcessingThe Science Data Systems Branch, Code 586, and the Advanced Data Management and Analysis Branch, Code 587, jointly held a Science Data Processing workshop at GSFC on 7-8 November 2000. The LENA imager was represented by Evelyn Lee, who presented a poster entitled: IMAGE-LENA Science Data Processing. Barbara Giles, with support from Evelyn Lee, also gave a talk comparing the ISTP and IMAGE data systems. • 20 October 2000: First Magnetosheath ENA Emission Model UnveiledDr. M.-C. Fok of USRA in Greenbelt, MD (supported by the IMAGE theory and modeling team) recently unveiled the first calculation of the expected ENA emission from the magnetosheath interaction with the Earth's geocorona. This model is useful for understanding the LENA imager observations of neutral atoms evidently coming from the sun or solar wind interaction with ambient neutral gas. It integrates the line of sight LENA flux from 5 to 50 RE, using a magnetosheath description from the global simulation results of the Gombosi/U. of MI BatsRus code running at GSFC. The model results can be previewed at the three different energies: 200 eV, 1000 eV, and 4000 eV (links to figures below). Each figure contains three simulated LENA 24 hour spectrograms, from orbits aligned at 8-20 hours, 6-18 hours, and 0-12 hours. The 1000 and 4000 eV traces look remarkably like those observed by LENA, indicating that substantial emissions are expected from the magnetosheath that are brightest in the nominal sun direction, even when the orbit is oriented normal to the sun-earth line. This substantiates our inferences of a solar wind origin for these LENA fluxes.In a final figure (for 1000 eV, link #4 below), spectrograms are shown for three different inner limits of integration. The differences seen as the inner limit moves outward represent loss of cusp features originating from the intrusion of magnetosheath plasma into the northern and southern cusp regions. These features tend to be dimmer than the streak near the sun direction, except at lower energies. SWENA_0200eV_3orbit.gifSWENA_1000eV_3orbit.gif SWENA_4000eV_3orbit.gif SWENA_1000eV_3Rmin.gif |
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15 September 2000 - LENAs To Shake Up San Francisco (09/21/00)
San Francisco CA, perpetual home of earthquakes, left-wing politics, and the Fall American Geophysical Union meeting (www.agu.org), will be penetrated late this fall by something completely different: Low Energy Neutral Atoms. As part of a special session devoted to discoveries from the ground-breaking IMAGE mission, scientists analyzing LENA data will present the first observations of low energy neutral atoms from the ionosphere and interplanetary medium: Moore et al., Overview; Collier et al., Heliospheric LENAs; Fuselier et al., LENAs from Earth; Wilson et al., Auroral LENAs; Stephen et al., LENA Cross Sections; Coffey et al., LENA association with ionospheric outflows |
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3-4 August 2000 - Texas sunshine sheds both light and heat on LENA
observations (08/15/00)
Members of the IMAGE team recently converged on San Antonio for the second Science Working Team meeting since the flawless IMAGE launch last March. Will IMAGE revolutionize [scientific] publication?" IMAGE PI James Burch asked cinematically, suggesting that we will need to publish movies to depict the plethora of stunning images returned by IMAGE's six scientific instruments. LENA Lead Investigator Dr. Thomas E. Moore presented an operations overview along with images and analysis from the first major storm observed by IMAGE/LENA on 8 June including low energy neutral atoms from the solar wind, and from the auroral plasma fountain. Dr. Michael R. Collier followed with a detailed discussion of observations of direct neutral solar wind resulting from charge exchange with interstellar material, and also neutral solar wind resulting from charge exchange in the magnetosheath relatively near the Earth. Dr. Stephen Fuselier of Lockheed Martin completed the LENA story by describing observations of neutral atom outflow in the June 8 event, concluding that the 38 minute time delay between the shock passage and the observation of a low energy oxygen burst is consistent with topside ionospheric heating and acceleration by electron precipitation (see figure for observations of the ionospheric oxygen ejection). The LENA presentations produced animated and sometimes heated discussion about the meaning of the new LENA imager observations. Ionospheric Oxygen Ejection |
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18 July 2000 - LENA Instrument Lead Interviewed by Astronomy
Now (07/26/00)
The old way of tracking magnetic storms is like trying to understand severe thunderstorms in the Midwest by driving around with a rain gauge out the window." So explained LENA instrument lead Dr. Thomas Moore of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in an interview with Astronomy Now, Britain's best-selling astronomy magazine http://www.astronomynow.com |
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6/8/2000 - LENA Observes Geomagnetic Effects of Gigantic
Solar Bubble (6/26/00)
Early this morning at 08:42 UT, a vigorous shock wave passed NASA's ACE spacecraft, an upstream solar wind monitor designed to give advanced warning of geomagnetic activity. This disturbance was the leading edge of a gigantic bubble of gas ejected from the Sun on 6 June. Shortly thereafter, the Low Energy Neutal Atom imager on the recently launched IMAGE spacecraft observed the effects of this shock on the Earth's environment. LENA observed direct evidence of the solar wind shock arrival as an increase of neutral atom flux passing through the magnetosphere from the direction of the sun. It also observed the enhanced ionospheric outflows from the Earth, in response to the solar wind enhancement. The IMAGE mission will allow scientists to understand the link between these inter-planetary disturbances and their frequently devastating impact on Earth satellites, communications and power grids. LENA CME/Storm |
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Initial LENA Data Presented at IMAGE Team Meeting 5/23/00 (5/26/00)
Spectrograms from LENA presented at the recent IMAGE Science Working Team Meeting at Goddard Space Flight Center on May 23-24, 2000 showed how the real neutral atom signal is separated from other signals such as the sun pulse and diffuse noise from the radiation belts. A movie of the LENA data from a perigee pass over Antarctica on May 16 showed that LENA is recording neutral hydrogen atom emissions from the Earth's ionosphere, remotely sensing the heating and outflow of plasma from the ionosphere into the magnetosphere, known as auroral plasma fountains. Long term variations observed by LENA were compatible with those observed by the POLAR TIDE instrument. LENA's are the first remote sensing observations of this phenomena, which should lead to better knowledge of how the fountains respond to solar wind variations. Initial LENA Data |
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LENA Obtains First Images (5/5/00)
LENA was ramped to full operation early on 3 May 2000, and immediately began to record signals coming from the Earth's vicinity. Upon ramping High Voltage, a sun pulse appeared, and was later interrupted by eclipse as the spacecraft passed around behind the earth. The radiation belts produce large singles rates but modest coincidence rates. A particularly strong signal was observed in eclipse and near perigee, as shown in the figure. Other weaker signals were also observed and we look forward to optimizing instrument performance and analyzing this data set. First Light Image LENA Movie |
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IMAGE Mission Lecture Tuesday April 18 at 3:30 P.M. (4/14/00)
Dr. James Green, Chief of the Space Science Data Operations Office Code 630, will deliver a GSFC Visitor Center Mission Lecture on the IMAGE mission on 18 April 2000 (NOT 19 April 2000) at 3:30 P.M. in the auditorium at the Visitor Center. |
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IMAGE LAUNCHED MARCH 25 (3/28/00)
"IMAGE will rewrite the textbooks," according to the IMAGE mission PI Dr. James Burch of Southwest Research Institute at a press briefing last Friday, the day before the flawless launch of the IMAGE spacecraft aboard a Delta rocket from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. One of the instruments carried on the IMAGE spacecraft, the Low Energy Neutral Atom or LENA imager, will for the first time explore the low energy neutral atoms in the geospace environment. By Monday morning, the AST has been successfully powered on, the torque rod put into acquisition mode (spin control mode), HENA turned on with acoustic door opened, and LENA turned on with successful LV SFF. In the next 24 hours FUV will be powered on with an SFF, GEO on, and RPI SFF, and EUV powered on with SFF. The IMAGE S/C is operating nominally except for the Nutation Damper, which is not damping. There is currently a 3 deg. coning motion, and efforts to eliminate it are being planned.
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LENA Lead Co-I on FOX NEWS (3/23/00)
Dr. Thomas E. Moore of Goddard Space Flight Center, Mission Scientist for IMAGE and the Lead Co-Investigator for the Low Energy Neutral Atom (LENA) imager on IMAGE, will appear on Fox News (channel 5) this Friday morning, 24 March 2000, at about 9:45 A.M., to discuss the upcoming IMAGE launch and its associated science, including LENA's role. |
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GSFC first to gaze at Low Energy Neutrals
A team of scientists and engineers led by Dr. Thomas Moore at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center will soon be the first to peer at a cloud of low energy neutral atoms that encircle the earth. The instrument, named LENA, will be launched this February from California's Vanderberg Air Force Base... |
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IMAGE SCHEDULED TO LAUNCH MARCH 25 (3/23/00)
NASA is about to launch the first spacecraft dedicated to imaging the Earth's magnetosphere - an invisible magnetic field surrounding the planet that is strongly influenced by the solar wind. Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration, or IMAGE is scheduled to launch onboard a Delta II 7326 rocket, on March 25 from the Western Range of Vandenberg Air Force Base, California during an eight-minute launch window, which opens at 3:35 p.m. EST. IMAGE is the first of its kind, designed to actually "see" most of the major charged particle systems in the space surrounding Earth. Previous spacecraft explored the magnetosphere by detecting particles and fields they encountered as they passed through them. This technique limited their "vision" to small portions of this vast and dynamic field, which extends about 40,000 miles on Earth's day side and about 110,000 miles on Earth's night side. It would be similar to attempt understanding the nature of the world's oceans from a single buoy. Goddard Space Flight Center, in addition to managing the mission, has supplied one of the neutral atom imagers on the spacecraft. |
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NASA to Launch Spacecraft to Study Impact of Magnetic Storms (3/17/00)
A new NASA spacecraft, the Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Expl oration (IMAGE), will make the hidden chaos of the Earth's magnetosphere visibl e for the first time. Scheduled to launch Saturday, March 25 from Vandenberg Ai r Force Base, Calif. at 3:35 p.m. EST, the Goddard-managed IMAGE spacecraft wil l be the first mission dedicated to studying the vast but invisible magnetic fi eld around Earth. Sophisticated imaging instruments on IMAGE will help research ers better understand and predict magnetic storms. IMAGE will use energetic neu tral atom imaging and conventional photon (light-based) imaging, including ultr aviolet wavelengths and radio sounding, to gather large-scale images of the pri ncipal plasma regions and boundaries of Earth's inner magnetosphere. For more information on this exciting mission, go to: http://pao.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc/gnews/031700 /031700.htm#image |
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IMAGE Launch Date
Finally, launch of IMAGE has slipped a little, and is currently expected no earlier than March 25. IMAGE is the first satellite mission dedicated to im aging the Earth's magnetosphere. Follow the news at http://pluto.space.swri.edu/IMAGE/ |
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IMAGE Launch Date Being Evaluated
The launch of NASA's Imager for Magnetopause to Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) spacecraft is under review pending results of a thorough analysis and testing of power converters on the spacecraft. To date, there have been no problems with components on IMAGE, however identical converters have failed on two known spacecraft, prompting the IMAGE Project to request testing of these components for reassurance they will function as intended once on orbit. The project has recently completed the Mission Readiness and Mission Status Reviews in preparation for launch. For more information visit the project website at: http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov |
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IMAGE Launch Rescheduled
The launch of NASA's Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) spacecraft at the Vandenberg Air Force Base launch site in Central California has been rescheduled. The launch will take place no earlier than Feb. 26. For more information about the IMAGE mission and its instruments, go to: http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov |
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IMAGE Spacecraft Arrives at Vandenberg Launch Site
NASA's Imager for Magnetopause-to_Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) spacecraft ar rived at the Vandenberg Air Force Base launch site in Central California on Tuesd ay, Jan. 4. It is scheduled for launch on Feb. 15, 2000. For more information a bout the IMAGE mission and its instruments, go to http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov |
