Precipitation of relativistic electrons.

Precipitation of relativistic electrons observed in Earth's auroral zone occurs on the morning and evening local hours. The morning precipitation is impulsive with durations of about 0.25s (microbursts). The evening precipitation is relatively smooth with variations on minute time scales. Mechanisms for the relativistic electron precipitation remain unknown. Microbursts with relativistic energies come from polar orbiting satellites and they have not been seen on balloon-borne detectors. Relativistic electrons on the evening hours are detected by balloonborne detectors and have not been reported by satellites. We anticipate the upcoming missions could resolve this dilemma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]