We interpret observations of low‐altitude electromagnetic ELF hiss observed on the dayside at subauroral latitudes. A divergent propagation pattern has been reported between 50° and 75° of geomagnetic latitude. The waves propagate with downward directed wave vectors which are slightly equatorward inclined at lower magnetic latitudes and slightly poleward inclined at higher latitudes. Reverse ray tracing using different plasma density models indicates a possible source region near the geomagnetic equator at a radial distance between 5 and 7 Earth radii by a mechanism acting on highly oblique wave vectors near the local Gendrin angle. We analyze waveforms received at altitudes of 700–1200 km by the Freja and DEMETER spacecraft and we find that low‐altitude ELF hiss contains discrete time‐frequency structures resembling wave packets of whistler mode chorus. Emissions of chorus also predominantly occur on the dawnside and dayside and have recently been considered as a possible source of highly accelerated electrons in the outer Van Allen radiation belt. Detailed measurements of the Cluster spacecraft at radial distances of 4–5 Earth radii show chorus propagating downward from the source region localized close to the equator. The time‐frequency structure and frequencies of chorus observed by Cluster along the reverse raypaths of ELF hiss are consistent with the hypothesis that the frequently observed dayside ELF hiss is just the low‐altitude manifestation of natural magnetospheric emissions of whistler mode chorus.

We investigate the ray trajectories of nonductedly propagating lower-band chorus waves with respect to their initial angle θ0, between the wave vector and ambient magnetic field. Although we consider a wide range of initial angles θ0, in order to be consistent with recent satellite observations, we pay special attention to the intervals of initial angles θ0, for which the waves propagate along the field lines in the source region, i.e. we mainly focus on waves generated with &theta0 within an interval close to 0° and on waves generated within an interval close to the Gendrin angle. We demonstrate that the ray trajectories of waves generated within an interval close to the Gendrin angle with a wave vector directed towards the lower L-shells (to the Earth) significantly diverge at the frequencies typical for the lower-band chorus. Some of these diverging trajectories reach the topside ionosphere having θ close to 0°; thus, a part of the energy may leak to the ground at higher altitudes where the field lines have a nearly vertical direction. The waves generated with different initial angles are reflected. A small variation of the initial wave normal angle thus very dramatically changes the behaviour of the resulting ray. Although our approach is rather theoretical, based on the ray tracing simulation, we show that the initial angle θ0 of the waves reaching the ionosphere (possibly ground) is surprisingly close - differs just by several degrees from the initial angles which fits the observation of magnetospherically reflected chorus revealed by CLUSTER satellites. We also mention observations of diverging trajectories on low altitude satellites.