Abstract
WE have received some preliminary results from Prof. W. Kessenich, of Tomsk, U.S.S.R., of the measurements made there on the ionosphere during the total eclipse of June 19, 1936, at the suggestion of Prof. Bonch-Bruevich, and as part of the general scientific eclipse programme of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The main radio work was directed towards the solution of the problem of the source of the ionization of the F2-layer, since earlier eclipses have indicated that the E and F1 layers are mainly ionized by ultra-violet light. The daily variations in the critical frequencies of the ordinary (f0) and extraordinary (fx) rays for the F2 layer were measured, by the pulse method, from June 16 until June 24: in addition, qualitative measurements were made, at a constant frequency, on the absorption changes during the eclipse. The receiving apparatus was in the same room as the transmitter, and included two cathode ray oscillographs, one for visual observation and the other for recording: this arrangement enabled critical frequencies to be measured in one or two minutes with an accuracy of 1 or 2 per cent. The interpretation of the results is unfortunately somewhat limited by the fact that a world-wide magnetic disturbance set in at about three hours before optical totality: this seems in no way connected with the eclipse.
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Russian Eclipse Measurements on the Ionosphere. Nature 138, 195 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/138195a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/138195a0