Energetic neutral atom
term
Energetic Neutral Atom (ENA) imaging is a technology used to create global images of otherwise invisible phenomena in the magnetospheres of planets and throughout the heliosphere.
Charged particles—protons, electrons, and various atomic nuclei—emitted from solar wind that are the basis of the interstellar medium. These charged particles have the ability to be redirected by magnetic fields such as the magnetic field surrounding the Earth. Occasionally charged particles within the plasma of the solar wind will collide with neutral atoms. This collision results in the previously charged particle becoming a neutrally charged atom. Due to the loss of charge, the atom no longer experiences magnetic attraction while maintaining its gravitational attraction and velocity.
ENAs are used for imaging phenomena in the magnetospheres of planets and throughout the heliosphere.
Earth's magnetosphere preserves its atmosphere and protects life on Earth from cell-damaging radiation. This region of space weather is the site of geomagnetic storms that disrupt communications systems and pose radiation hazards to humans traveling in airplanes (at high altitude and latitude) or in orbiting spacecraft. Geomagnetic weather systems have been late to benefit from the satellite imagery taken for granted in weather forecasting and space physics because their origins in magnetospheric plasma frequency present the added problem of invisibility.
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