Solar wind interaction with Comet Bennett /1969i/.

Abstract

Examination of the relations between the solar-wind and Comet Bennett during the period from Mar. 23 to Apr. 5, 1970. A large kink was observed in the ion tail of the comet on April 4, but no solar-wind stream was observed in the ecliptic plane which could have caused the kink. Thus, either there was no correlation between the solar wind at the earth and that at Comet Bennett (which was 40 deg above the ecliptic) or the kink was caused by something other than a high-speed stream. The fine structure visible in photographs of the kink favors the second of these alternatives. It is shown that a shock probably passed through Comet Bennett on March 31, but no effect was seen in photographs of the comet. A stream preceded by another shock and a large abrupt change in momentum flux might have intercepted the comet between March 24 and March 28, but again no effect was seen in photographs of the Comet.