The Hidden Ion Population of the Magnetosphere

Particle data from two geosynchronous satellites (Applied Technology Satellite 6 and SCATHA) show a normally hidden ion population appearing when the satellites are in the earth's shadow. Ion and electron data show the spacecraft potential dropping from +10 V in sunlight to +4 to +5 V in eclipse at local midnight, in low-energy (T < 1 keV) plasma sheet environments. During eclipse, a cold (T = 1 eV), dense (n = 10-100 cm), isotropic ion population appears which was invisible in sunlight because of the larger positive spacecraft potential. Higher-energy populations generally cover the tails of the hidden ion populations, so they cannot be inferred from daylight data. The isotropic population appears only in a few percent of the spacecraft eclipse events, appearing only at times of low Kp (2 or less, preceded by a day with ΣKp < 20). A low-energy (T = 1-2 eV) field-aligned population often appears with and without the isotropic population, at slightly higher flux levels. These fluxes are visible in sunlight, but again the distribution functions obtained in eclipse differ from those that would be inferred from daylight data. Measurement of the thermal plasma population on a consistent basis, particularly in the plasma sheet, will require some method of controlling the detector potential with respect to the ambient plasma.