Plasma irregularities in the Comet's tail

Abstract

The fluctuations in the intensity of radio source PKS 2025-15 during its occultation by Comet Kohoutek (1973f) on January 5, 1974, can be interpreted as scintillations due to the turbulent plasma in the Comet's tail. It was found that the rms fluctuation of the electron density in the Comet's tail is about 200 electrons/cu cm, the inner scale of the fluctuation is about 8 x 10 to the 7th power cm and the largest scale of fluctuation may reach 6 x 10 to the 10th power cm.