Thermospheric heating at high latitudes as observed from Intercosmos-Bulgaria-1300 and Dynamics Explorer-B

This paper reports the results of the first direct comparison of near simultaneous measurements obtained by the INTERCOSMOS-BULGARIA-l300 and the DYNAMICS EXPLORER-B satellites. The ICB—l300 is in a near circular orbit at a mean height of about 850 km. The DE-B satellite in an elliptical orbit is sometimes directly below the ICB-1300 satellite providing an opportunity to investigate the response of the thermosphere to particle fluxes from the magnetosphere. Energy fluxes in the range 0.2 — 15 key are obtained from an energetic particle analyzer on board the ICB-1300 satellite. The thermospheric composition and density are obtained by a neutral gas mass spectrometer (NACS) on the DE-B satellite. During the period 20 August — 20 November, 1981, observations show that the times and locations of maxima in magnetospheric energy deposition coincide with regions of maximum thermospheric upwelling characterized by composition changes.