Ground-based optical measurements of daytime auroral emissions: a new means of investigating space-weather related processes

Abstract

The first optical signatures of plasmapause associated processes were gleaned from the daytime auroral emissions monitored from Maitri, the Indian station in Antarctica, using the newly built, ground-based, Multiwavelength Daytime Photometer (MWDPM). The plasmapause boundary inferred from these measurements conforms well with the known empirical relationship with the geomagnetic indexKp. The measurements made at 391.4, 486.1, 557.7 and 630.0 nm emissions revealed significant day-to-day variations in their spatial and temporal extents. These preliminary results are presented and discussed.