The Meteor-M № 1 and Meteor-M № 2 satellites had a group of omnidirectional counters and a group of narrow-beam multi-channel telescopic instruments. The telescopes were mounted along the velocity vector of the satellite and radially to the zenith. During flights through the inner belt in the direction from the equator to the south pole, the latitudinal profiles of protons in the channels of omnidirectional counters and in the channels of telescopes of different directions were located one below the other. When flying in the opposite direction, the “omnidirectional” profile approximately maintained its position, and the profiles in the channels of the telescopes of different directions shifted relative to the “omnidirectional” profile in opposite directions. The high-altitude course of the protons of the inner belt in the channels of the telescopes is a complex of elements of various shapes. The relative position of these elements depends on the direction of the telescope’s axis and the direction of the satellite’s motion. Algorithms and calculation results for the orientation of the axes of the telescopes relative to the magnetic field vector are presented. It is shown that the orientation of the axes of the telescopes depends on the longitude and on the direction of motion of the satellite. Depending on this, different areas of the pitch-angular distribution of particles fall into the field of view of the telescope. Based on a simple model of the pitch angular distribution of proton fluxes in the form of j≈sin(α), the fluxes that can enter the field of view of the telescope were calculated. It was taken into account that part of the intake cone itself may lie inside the cone of atmospheric losses. The simulation results of latitude and altitude movements showed a qualitative agreement with the satellite observations.
E. A. Ginzburg (Wed,) studied this question.