LAUSR

Abstract We present the results of observing the Cygnus-A radio source scintillation in the Earth's ionosphere under quiet and disturbed geomagnetic conditions by using the Irkutsk incoherent scattering radar (IISR). The scintillation method applied for ionosphere testing at IISR confidently determines the Fresnel frequency and power cutoff, the spectral characteristics usually related to the velocities and spatial spectra of ionospheric plasma irregularities. We also use the IGRF magnetic field model to show the relation between the shape of discrete radio source scintillation spectra and the direction to the radio source with respect to the geomagnetic field. The S4 index increase within the magnetic zenith is observed to be conditioned by the scintillation spectrum widening. We also evaluate the zonal velocity of observed ionospheric irregularities as ∼10 m/sec assuming the irregularity height to be equal to the F2-layer maximum height in the ionosphere.