Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley
Using global auroral images from both Polar and IMAGE satellites, we investigate the conjugacy of dayside aurora. This study is limited to periods between the equinox and northern winter solstice when Polar UVI is imaging the southern auroral zone and IMAGE FUV provides coverage of the northern auroral region. Both instruments are sensitive to LBH emissions produced by electron impact. We find several intervals during which the dayside auroral morphology is not conjugate in either space or time. Hence, the electron access or electron acceleration mechanisms responsible for the auroral emission are likewise not conjugate. Preliminary results indicate that periods of non-conjugacy may be related to large changes in the y-component of the IMF. Additionally, asymmetries in the ionospheric conductivity, especially closer to the solstice, may also contribute to the observed non-conjugacy. By comparing the morphologies of the electron precipitation in both the northern and southern dayside auroral regions, we can gain insight into solar wind-magnetosphere energy flow and coupling, and provide a valuable test for present modeling efforts.
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