Abstract
This study presents the longitudinal distribution of thermospheric
density around the terminator (in the dawn and dusk sectors), using
observations collected by the atmospheric density detector onboard the
Chinese satellite APOD (Atmospheric density detection and Precise Orbit
Determination) from 2017 to 2018. The APOD observations show a
significant relative longitudinal variation of thermospheric density
with global maxima (Δρrmax) near the geomagnetic
pole, especially in the winter hemisphere. The annual maximum of
Δρrmax appears in the Southern Hemisphere around
the June solstices and reaches 26.3% and 39.6% at dawn and dusk,
respectively. Compared with at dawn, Δρrmax
occurs at a higher latitude with a larger value at dusk. The auroral
heating and meridional wind might play an important role in the
longitudinal variation of thermospheric density. We further compare the
APOD observations with the NRLMSIS 2.0 model predictions under low solar
activity condition. The NRLMSIS 2.0 model reproduces similar
longitudinal variations to the observations, with hemispheric asymmetry
and local time difference.