A re-determination of the boundaries of the cusp

Abstract

Ariel 4 data (Goodallet al., 1973) of February 4 to May 5 1972 have been used to investigate the cusp boundaries. Data with the same local time (LT) and magnetic local time (MLT) around noontime and at high invariant latitudes (INL) have been used to represent the cusp area. (1) For noontime hours (MLT=1200 and LT=1200) high electron density values are observed. (2) the boundary towards the equator of the high density region starts at 76°–77° INL and the poleward boundary is at about 82° INL. Therefore, high electron densities are observed along an INL interval of 5°–6° at the Ariel 4 heights of 500–600 km, agreeing with other investigations.