FIRST POLAR AND 1995-034 OBSERVATIONS OF THE MIDALTITUDE CUSP DURING A PERSISTENT NORTHWARD IMF CONDITION

We present the first observations by Polar and 1995-034 of the mid-alt itude cusp. On May 29, 1996, the Polar and 1995-034 spacecraft crossed into an extended cusp region. The region was characterized by intense fluxes of solar wind like ions in the energy range 1-10 keV that had angular distributions that showed evidence of flows and trapping. The ion composition data are combined with energetic proton observations f rom Polar and plasma observations from 1995-034 and DMSP satellites to examine the spatial and temporal extent and plasma characteristics of the cusp during a persistent northward IMF condition. The composition data is consistent with expected solar wind composition with a source temperature of similar to 1.25 x 10(6) K. The combined spacecraft obs ervations show an extended cusp-like region, probably produced by nort hward IMF.