We plan to investigate the consequences of these assumptions and to make changes as required, but we have not done so yet. The plots below show the derived total precipitating energy patterns for medium energy electrons for 10 activity levels. The total hemispheric precipitating energy is computed by spatially integrating the energy under the Maxwellian fit in each bin as explained in the data analysis procedure. The patterns are displayed versus magnetic local time and magnetic latitude. The perimeter latitude is 54 o magnetic North, and the dotted constant latitude circles are 4 o apart.
Magnetic midnight is at the top.
The most evident feature of the medium energy electron precipitation patterns is the circular shape with a deep trough centered around 15-16 MLT and extending from early afternoon to early evening. The general shape of the patterns is consistent with the view that electrons, drifting Earthward in the midnight region under the magneto-tail convection fields, are lost in the atmosphere while drifting eastward. The extent of the energy deposition in the pre-midnight sector is somewhat unexpected. Total precipitating energy and alpha are anticorrelated. The values for alpha can reach below 20 keV, especially for medium activity, though they are between 20 and 30 keV on average.