Observation and Modeling of Ionospheric Response of Annular Solar Eclipse

Abstract

The ionosphere is a part of upper atmosphere where electrons and electrically charged atoms interact with electromagnetic fields. During a solar eclipse, the Sun’s photosphere is shielded by the Moon, thereby decreasing the ionizing radiation from the Sun, causing changes in electron concentration of ionosphere. This causes noticeable effects on radio wave propagation as the wave guide itself changes its shape. Here we present a brief review of ionospheric effects of solar eclipses on the D-region ionosphere in low latitude Indian region. VLF signals from two transmitters (VTX and NWC) were used to diagnose the D-region effects due to the solar eclipses. We also present the solar eclipse effects on topside ionosphere and associated plasma transport effects using the data from DEMETER satellite.