HR: 0800h
AN: SM41A-1122    [Abstracts]
TI: Recent analysis of magnetic field and beta particle measurements of the Starfish nuclear burst plasma expansion and collapse.
AU: * Dyal, P
EM: pdyal@pacbell.net
AB: Five spacecraft located 100 to 1000 kilometers around the Starfish nuclear burst measured the expansion and collapse of the plasma bubble produced in the geomagnetic field and early time injection into the inner Van Allen radiation belt. The bubble evolved into an elongated shape 2400 km along the magnetic field lines and 700 km across in 1.2 seconds and required approximately 15 seconds to collapse. After the magnetic bubble reached its maximum size instabilities and fluting permitted the beta emitting fission fragments to continue to expand. This process injected a flux measuring 2.5x1010 beta/cm2sec into the most intense region of the artificial belt mapped by the Injun I spacecraft 10 hours later.
DE: 2720 Energetic particles, trapped
DE: 2730 Magnetosphere--inner
DE: 2772 Plasma waves and instabilities
SC: SPA-Magnetospheric Physics [SM]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting