HR: 1340h
AN: AE33A-0948    [Abstracts]
TI: Transient Gamma-Ray Emissions Related to Thunderstorms: Coordinated RHESSI and CORONAS-F Observations
AU: Kudela, K
EM: kkudela@upjs.sk
AF: Institute of Experimental Physics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Watsonova 47, Košice, 04353 Slovakia (Slovak Republic)
AU: * Bučík, R
EM: rbucik@upjs.sk
AF: Institute of Experimental Physics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Watsonova 47, Košice, 04353 Slovakia (Slovak Republic)
AU: Kuznetsov, S N
EM: kuznets@srd.sinp.msu.ru
AF: Institute of Nuclear Physics, Moscow State University, Vorob'evy Gory, Moscow, 119899 Russian Federation
AU: Lopez, L I
EM: astrolili@ssl.berkeley.edu
AF: San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave, San Franciso, CA 94132 United States
AU: Smith, D M
EM: dsmith@scipp.ucsc.edu
AF: University of California, 1156 High St, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 United States
AB: Transient gamma-ray emissions from the Earth's atmosphere with duration of a few milliseconds and associated with lightning discharges were discovered by the BATSE/CGRO instrument in 1994, and new features have been recently reported from the RHESSI measurements. These so-called terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) are thought to be bremsstrahlung photons from energetic electron beams above the thunderstorms. The SOlar Neutron and Gamma rays (SONG) experiment aboard low altitude (~ 500 km) polar orbiting (~ 83°) CORONAS-F satellite, designed to detection of neutral particles from the Sun, provides 1-s measurements of hard X-rays/gamma rays in range of 30 keV to 200 MeV. The SONG consists of large effective area (≤ 314 cm²) omnidirectional scintillator well suited for detection fluxes coming from the various directions from the Earth's atmosphere. We have identified cases when the RHESSI spacecraft, observing gamma-ray flashes at an altitude of about 600 km, and CORONAS-F passed through the same regions in period April 2002 - January 2005. The simultaneous gamma-ray measurements will be reviewed and discussed. Recent analysis of the SONG data have revealed observations of the enhanced hard X-ray emissions (above 50 times the background value) above geomagnetically conjugate regions to the lightning. The issue of freshly accelerated TGF electrons from the lightning itself, contributing to the precipitated radiation-belt electrons will be discussed too.
DE: 2716 Energetic particles: precipitating
DE: 3359 Radiative processes
DE: 7807 Charged particle motion and acceleration
SC: Atmospheric and Space Electricity [AE]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005