Ionospheric electron content measurements during a solar eclipse

During the total solar eclipse of July 20, 1963, changes in the total electron content of the earth's ionosphere were measured by observing the Faraday rotation of polarization of lunar radio waves. Linearly polarized radio waves were transmitted to the moon from the U.S. Army Research and Development Laboratories at Fort Monmouth, Belmar, New Jersey, on a frequency of 151 Mc/s with 50 kw of power, and from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, on 50 Mc/s also with 50 kw of power output. Our receivers were located at Sagamore Hill Radio Observatory, Hamilton, Massachusetts. On the 50-Mc/s frequency, a receiver was operated at the transmitting site; thus the Stanford data (Howard, private communication) was subtracted from the Sagamore Hill 50-Mc/s data leaving only the amount of change in total polarization rotation that occurred in the ionosphere above Sagamore Hill. Since there was no receiver in operation at the Fort Monmouth site, only the sum of the total electron content in the ionospheres over Sagamore Hill and Fort Monmouth could be determined from the 150-Mc/s data alone.

Перевод пока недоступен