The electron content of the ionosphere at middle latitudes in summer

Abstract

Measurements of the electron content of the ionosphere obtained from observations of the differential Faraday rotation of moon-reflected signals on two closely spaced frequencies are described. Accurate values of the electron content on many successive days near the summer solstices of 1960 and 1961 are presented, and compared and contrasted with similar measurements made in the winter of 1960 (Evans & Taylor 1961). The diurnal variations of electron content, short-period irregular fluctuations in electron content, equivalent slab thickness and top-to-bottom ratio are all found to differ from those observed in winter. The middle latitude seasonal anomaly is found to be less prominent in the electron content than in the maximum electron density .