The cosmic ray electron spectrum and its modulation from 1968 through 1972

• Main Authors: Fulks, G., Meyer, P., Lheureux, J.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1974
• Subjects: 29; Canada; Fort Churchill; Churchill
• Online Access: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19740047454

Over the past five years we have measured the energy spectrum of primary cosmic ray electrons with both a balloon-borne and a satellite absorption spectrometer. All of the balloon flights used identical equipment that was launched each summer from Fort Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. The satellite, OGO-5, has been in an eccentric orbit since March 1968. Together these instruments provide the electron spectrum over a range of energy from 20 MeV to 20 GeV. This wide range and the substantial span of time covered by the measurements permit a detailed study of the solar modulation of electrons. These results are compared with the modulation of the nuclear components as observed by a neutron monitor and interpreted using the cosmic ray transport equation.