The discovery of nitrogen ions in the earth's magnetosphere

Operating in a mass scanning mode, the Retarding Ion Mass Spectrometer (RIMS) has measured N(+) and N(++) ions in the magnetosphere. Both N(+) and N(++) are observed in the plasmasphere, with N(+) ions also seen flowing out of the northern polar cap at altitudes up to 3 earth radii. The N(+) fluxes are 5 to 10% of the O(+) fluxes with the N(++) fluxes at 1-5% of the N(+) fluxes.