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A direct measurement of the winter helium bulgeIn late December 1975, the orbital configuration of the Atmosphere Explorer-D satellite made possible the measurement of the winter helium bulge within a single perigee pass. Shortly after the winter solstice, the perigee of the polar-orbiting AE-D satellite crossed the equator, at which time descending and ascending portions of the orbit stretched symmetrically over the Southern and Northern Hemispheres. The open-source neutral mass spectrometer (OSS) on board AE-D measured helium densities between the perigee (about 150 km) and altitudes of 650 km. During the time the perigee was at the equator, altitudes above approximately 550 km were located north and south at latitudes greater than 50-deg. Helium showed, in the winter hemisphere, densities that were a factor of 20 higher than at corresponding altitudes and latitudes in the Southern (summer) Hemisphere. Absolute densities of helium agree well with previous measurements.
Document ID
19760050454
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Mauersberger, K.
Potter, W. E.
Kayser, D. C.
(Minnesota, University Minneapolis, Minn., United States)
Date Acquired
August 8, 2013
Publication Date
May 1, 1976
Publication Information
Publication: Geophysical Research Letters
Volume: 3
Subject Category
Geophysics
Accession Number
76A33420
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS5-11438
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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