SPRG Seminars
December 7, 2010:
" Bi-directional electron distributions at Mars"
Demet Ulusen, Space Science Lab
Mars is a weakly magnetized solar system body with a substantial ionosphere. Although the main obstacle to the solar wind is the Martian ionosphere, strong crustal magnetic fields localized mainly in the southern hemisphere also interact with the solar wind. This interaction creates several local dynamic and transient events, many of which are the Martian counterparts of events observed on Earth. In this talk I will focus on one of these phenomena - conical electron distributions � detected in the Mars Global Surveyor angular electron measurements. I will present results from a study of the detailed characteristics of these electron distributions observed near Martian crustal magnetic anomalies, determine their features and operating conditions, and discuss their generation mechanism.