Neutral Atom Imaging of the Earth's Magnetosphere

R M Skoug (Los Alamos National Laboratory, MS D466, Los Alamos, NM 87545; 
505-667-6594; rskoug@lanl.gov)

Neutral atom imaging is a relatively new technique that uses measurements of 
charge exchange neutral atoms to remotely sense properties of space plasmas.  
In contrast to traditional in situ plasma measurements, which provide only 
local observations, neutral atom imaging provides a global view of the 
magnetosphere.  This talk will first address the physics of neutral atom 
imaging, after which instrumentation techniques will be reviewed.  The Polar 
CEPPAD/IPS instrument detects neutral atoms at times when the charged particle 
flux is low.  We will present neutral atom images from Polar which demonstrate 
the power of neutral atom imaging.  IMAGE, launched in March 2000, is the first 
dedicated magnetospheric imaging mission.  We will present early data from 
IMAGE showing the global behavior of magnetospheric particles during storms and 
substorms.  Finally, the potential of the forthcoming TWINS mission, which will 
provide the first stereoscopic images of plasma in the Earth's magnetosphere, 
will be discussed.

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Presented at the APS Division of Plasma Physics meeting, October, 2000