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NASA NTRS1983

Structure and dynamics of Saturn's outer magnetosphere and boundary regions

In 1979-1981, the three USA spacecraft Pioneer 11 and Voyagers 1 and 2 discovered and explored the magnetosphere of Saturn to the limited extent possible on flyby trajectories. Considerable variation in the locations of the bow shock (BS) and magnetopause (MP) surfaces were observed in association with variable solar wind conditions and, during the Voyager 2 encounter, possible immersion in Jupiter's distant magnetic tail. The limited number of BS and MP crossings were concentrated near the subsolar region and the dawn terminator, and that fact, together with the temporal variability, makes it difficult to assess the three dimensional shape of the sunward magnetospheric boundary. The combined BS and MP crossing positions from the three spacecraft yield an average BS-to-MP stagnation point distance ratio of 1.29 +/- 0.10. This is near the 1.33 value for the Earth's magnetosphere, implying a similar sunward shape at Saturn. Study of the structure and dynamical behavior of the outer magnetosphere, both in the sunward hemisphere and the magnetotail region using combined plasma and magnetic field data, suggest that Saturn's magnetosphere is more similar to that of Earth than that of Jupiter.

Behannon, K. W.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Structure and dynamics of Saturn's outer magnetosphere and boundary regions

Behannon, K. W.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Flow downstream of the heliospheric terminal shock. I - Irrotational flow

Recent reports of remote detection of the heliospheric terminal shock place it near 50 AU. These conflict with standard models which, when combined with current data on the local interstellar medium, place the shock beyod 100 AU. Resolution of this discrepancy has led to hypotheses that invoke cosmic ray pressure, momentum exchange with interstellar neutrals, and magnetic field effects between the shock and the contact discontinuity dividing the solar wind from interstellar plasma. These hypotheses depend not only on properties of the interstellar medium, but also on the downstream three-dimensional flow between the shock and the contact discontinuity, in the region called the 'heliosheath'. The downstream flow field in the absence of magnetic fields is examined here under the assumptions that the flow everywhere outside the shock can be approximated as irrotational and incompressible. It is found, in particular, that the distance between the terminal shock and the contact discontinuity is less than the heliocentric distance to the terminal shock, effectively eliminating magnetic field effects in the heliosheath as being dynamically important.

Suess, Steven T.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Martian bow shock - Phobos observations

Data obtained with the Magma magnetometer on the subsolar passes of the Phobos spacecraft during its 3 elliptic orbits reveals a turbulent bow shock with a strong foot consistent with the reflection of solar wind protons. The bow shock lies at a subsolar distance of 1.47 + or - .03 R(M). The circular orbit phase of the mission reveals a bow shock with a highly varying location. The median terminator crossing lies at 2.72 Mars radii. The location of the bow shock in the terminator plane is sensitive to neither the EUV flux nor to planetary longitude.

Schwingenschuh, K.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Solar Wind Drivers for Steady Magnetospheric Convection

Steady magnetospheric convection (SMC) also known as convection bays, is a particular mode of response of the magnetosphere to solar wind coupling. It is characterized by convection lasting for times longer than a typical substorm recovery during which no substorms expansions can be identified. It is generally believed that the solar wind must be unusually steady for the magnetosphere to enter this state. However, most previous studies have assumed this is true and have used such conditions to identify events. In a preliminary investigation using only the AE and AL indices to select events we have shown that these expectations are generally correct. SMC events seem to be associated with slow speed solar wind and moderate, stable IMF Bz. In this report we extend our previous study including additional parameters and the time variations in various statistical quantities. For the intervals identified as SMCs we perform a detailed statistical analysis of the properties of different solar wind variables. We compare these statistics to those determined from all data, and from intervals in which substorms but not SMCs are present. We also consider the question of whether substorms are required to initiate and terminate an SMC. We conclude that the intervals we have identified as SMC are likely to be examples of the original Dungey concept of balanced reconnection at a pair of x-lines on the day and night side of the Earth.

McPherron, Robert L.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Stretched three-dimensional plasma equilibria with field-aligned flow

A three-dimensional equilibrium theory for stretched plasma configurations, such as the earth's magnetotail, is extended to include the effects of field-aligned flow. The MHD equations for this case can be solved in a general way by reduction to a set of ordinary differential equations and an ordinary integral. The solutions represent lowest-order solutions of an asymptotic expansion of the MHD equations for small electric field and weak time dependence. Simplified equations are presented for two-dimensional equilibria and for incompressible flow. Possible magnetospheric applications include the configuration of the geotail near and beyond the termination of the closed field line region, the steady motion of a plasmoid (a plasma bubble severed from the earth) through the distant geotail, and configurations at the magnetopause, the interface between the magnetosphere and the shocked solar wind plasma. For illustration, solutions for the steady motion of a two-dimensional plasmoid through the distant magnetotail are presented.

Birn, J.↗

NASA NTRS1994

A deep atmospheric eclipse of AL Velorum

I have obtained new International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) observations in 1992 to search for an accretion column in and to analyze an atmospheric eclipse of AL Vel, a low luminosity zeta Aurigae binary. Rich shell spectra recorded at three phases of atmospheric eclipse give column densities and excitation temperatures for the chromospheric gas. The chromospheric density falls off exponentially with a scale height of 3 solar radius, an order of magnitude greater than expected for support by thermal motions. Excitation temperatures at 2 - 5 scale heights into the chromosphere are approximately 7000 K, with Doppler widths near 17 km/s. Absorption features that could be formed in an accretion column were detected at phases 0.70 and 0.75 in a series of spectra spanning the range 0.63-0.80 in orbital phase. They imply a very slow acceleration of the wind, consistent with results for other zeta Aur binaries, but the wind speed implied is inconsistent with profiles of wind lines. The terminal velocity of this wind, greater than or approximately = 360 km/s, is higher than that in any of the other zeta Aur binaries. Wind and chromospheric features in 1992 were much more prominent than in 1988, which implies that both the wind and chromosphere were much more massive: we seem to have witnessed in 1992 a burst of activity with a mass-loss rate greater than 10(exp -8) solar mass/yr.

Eaton, Joel A.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Motion of the heliospheric termination shock. 2: Energy loss due to energetic particle acceleration

We present a generalization of earlier analysis of the motion of the heliospheric termination shock in response to heliospheric disturbances (Barnes, 1993) (paper 1), to allow jump conditions that include an energy sink at the shock front. The motivation for this study is that acceleration of the anomalous cosmic ray component may in fact represent such a sink. We have idealized the situation by assuming an infinitely thin shock parameterized by a quantity lambda(0 less than or equals lambda less than or equals 1), defined as the fraction of solar wind energy that is lost due to acceleration of the energetic particle component. If the sink is strong (consuming, say, 50% or more of the incident solar wind energy), the model leads to the following principal conclusions: (1) the shocked plasma would be much denser and cooler than in the standard gasdynamic case, thereby leading to more favorable conditions for direct observation of the shocked plasma; (2) the equilibrium shock position would be slightly farther (less than 10%) from the Sun than in the standard model; (3) as in the gasdynamic case, the shock would normally be in motion, so that the instantaneous position of the termination shock is not determined by interstellar conditions but by the recent history of the wind that has passed through the termination shock; and (4) the response of the shock to upstream disturbances would be similar to the response in the gasdynamic case, but the speed of the new termination shock would be somewhat smaller (probably by a f actor of 4 or less). We estimate that this speed is typically, approximately a few tens of kilometers per second corresponding to an inward or outward excursion of order of less than 1 to several AU, rather less than conventional estimates of several tens of AU.

Barnes, Aaron↗

NASA NTRS2011

The Plasma Wake Downstream of Lunar Topographic Obstacles: Preliminary Results from 2D Particle Simulations

Anticipating the plasma and electrical environments in permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) of the moon is critical in understanding local processes of space weathering, surface charging, surface chemistry, volatile production and trapping, exo-ion sputtering, and charged dust transport. In the present study, we have employed the open-source XOOPIC code [I] to investigate the effects of solar wind conditions and plasma-surface interactions on the electrical environment in PSRs through fully two-dimensional pattic1e-in-cell simulations. By direct analogy with current understanding of the global lunar wake (e.g., references) deep, near-terminator, shadowed craters are expected to produce plasma "mini-wakes" just leeward of the crater wall. The present results (e.g., Figure I) are in agreement with previous claims that hot electrons rush into the crater void ahead of the heavier ions, fanning a negative cloud of charge. Charge separation along the initial plasma-vacuum interface gives rise to an ambipolar electric field that subsequently accelerates ions into the void. However, the situation is complicated by the presence of the dynamic lunar surface, which develops an electric potential in response to local plasma currents (e.g., Figure Ia). In some regimes, wake structure is clearly affected by the presence of the charged crater floor as it seeks to achieve current balance (i.e. zero net current to the surface).

Zimmerman, Michael I.↗

NASA NTRS1973

Lunar atmospheric composition results from Apollo 17

The Apollo 17 mass spectrometer has confirmed the existence of helium, neon, argon, and possibly molecular hydrogen in the lunar atmosphere. Helium and neon concentrations are in agreement with model predictions based on the solar wind as a source and their being noncondensable gases. Ar-40 and Ar-36 both exhibit a predawn enhancement which indicates that they are condensable gases on the nightside and are re-released into the atmosphere at the sunrise terminator. Hydrogen probably exists in the lunar atmosphere in the molecular rather than atomic state, having been released from the surface in the molecular form. Total nighttime gas concentration of known species in the lunar atmosphere is 200,000 molecules/cu cm.

Hoffmann, J. H.↗

NASA NTRS2018

The Lunar Neon Exosphere Seen in LACE Data

Using the LACE data from Apollo 17 we have found measured neon densities consistent with the 20Ne surface number densities reported by Cook et al. (2013) for normal conditions, terminator surface densities of 3 (±1.5) × 10(exp 3) per cu.cm. These values are almost an order of magnitude less than those reported by Benna et al. (2015) for CME conditions. Using a Monte Carlo model and assuming the normal solar wind and a photoionization lifetime for Ne of 300 days, our result was more consistent with the Benna (2015) result than our measured result. Two lunations showed an increase in Ne during the night, consistent with the simulation, but two of the lunations showed a decrease in surface number density through the night. We have shown that explaining the Ne distribution is not as simple as assuming dynamic equilibrium with the solar wind and an exosphere accommodated to the local surface temperature.

LACE Data↗

NASA NTRS1972

Amino acid precursors in lunar samples.

The use of hot water to extract lunar samples, followed by the hydrolysis of the aqueous extract, appears to be the method of choice for identification and quantitation of amino acid precursors in extraterrestrial sources. The net inferences from the analyses to date are (1) that amino acid precursors are verifiably present in lunar dust, and (2) that they are quite certainly not the consequence of contamination by terrestrial organisms, including man. It is suggested that prebiotic evolutionary pathways such as have been traversed on the earth were terminated on the moon for lack of sufficient water. Although some or all of the amino acid precursors may be indigenous, the low level observed suggests that they may also result from onfall of organic compounds from interstellar matter, comets, tails, solar wind, or meteorites.

Fox, S. W.↗

NASA NTRS1984

The global distribution of thermospheric odd nitrogen for solstice conditions during solar cycle minimum

A two-dimensional model of odd nitrogen in the thermosphere and upper mesosphere is described. The global distributions of nitric oxide and atomic nitrogen are calculated for the solstice period for quiet and moderate magnetic activity during the solar minimum period. The effect of thermospheric transport by winds is investigated along with the importance of particle-induced ionization in the auroral zones. The results are compared with rocket and satellite measurements, and the sensitivity of the model to eddy diffusion and neutral winds is investigated. Downward fluxes of NO into the mesosphere are given, and their importance for stratospheric ozone is discussed. The results show that the summer-to-winter pole meridional circulation transports both NO and N(S-4) across the solar terminator into the polar night region where there is a downward vertical transport toward the mesosphere. The model shows that odd nitrogen densities at high winter latitudes are entirely controlled by particle precipitation and transport processes.

Gerard, J.-C.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Axisymmetric modeling of cometary mass loading on an adaptively refined grid: MHD results

The first results of an axisymmetric magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model of the interaction of an expanding cometary atmosphere with the solar wind are presented. The model assumes that far upstream the plasma flow lines are parallel to the magnetic field vector. The effects of mass loading and ion-neutral friction are taken into account by the governing equations, whcih are solved on an adaptively refined unstructured grid using a Monotone Upstream Centered Schemes for Conservative Laws (MUSCL)-type numerical technique. The combination of the adaptive refinement with the MUSCL-scheme allows the entire cometary atmosphere to be modeled, while still resolving both the shock and the near nucleus of the comet. The main findingsare the following: (1) A shock is formed approximately = 0.45 Mkm upstream of the comet (its location is controlled by the sonic and Alfvenic Mach numbers of the ambient solar wind flow and by the cometary mass addition rate). (2) A contact surface is formed approximately = 5,600 km upstream of the nucleus separating an outward expanding cometary ionosphere from the nearly stagnating solar wind flow. The location of the contact surface is controlled by the upstream flow conditions, the mass loading rate and the ion-neutral drag. The contact surface is also the boundary of the diamagnetic cavity. (3) A closed inner shock terminates the supersonic expansion of the cometary ionosphere. This inner shock is closer to the nucleus on dayside than on the nightside.

Gombosi, Tamas I.↗

NASA NTRS1973

The Apollo program and amino acids

Apollo lunar sample analyses designed to detect the presence of organic compounds are reviewed, and the results are discussed from the viewpoint of relevance to laboratory experiments on the synthesis of amino acids and to theoretical models of cosmochemical processes resulting in the formation of organic compounds. Glycine, alanine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, serine, and threonine have been found repeatedly in the hydrolyzates of hot aqueous extracts of lunar dust. These compounds represent an early step in the sequence of events leading to the rise of living material and were probably deposited by the solar wind. The results of the Apollo program so far suggest that the pathway from cosmic organic matter to life as it evolved on earth could have been pursued on the moon to the stage of amino acid precursors and then may have been terminated for lack of sufficient water.

Fox, S. W.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Global properties of the plasma in the outer heliosphere. I - Large-scale structure and evolution

Pioneers 10 and 11, and Voyager 2, have active plasma analyzers as they proceed through heliocentric distances of the order of 30-50 AU, facilitating comparative studies of the global character of the outer solar wind and its variation over the solar cycle. Careful study of these data show that wind ion temperature remains constant beyond 15 AU, and that there may be large-scale variations of temperature with celestial longitude and heliographic latitude. There has thus far been no indication of a heliospheric terminal shock.

Barnes, A.↗

NASA NTRS1993

31 Cygni: The B star and the wind

I have followed photospheric and wind absorptions in International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) spectra over much of the orbit of this K4 Ib+B3-4 binary system, using interstellar lines to transform all the velocities to a scale with the interstellar medium at -10.1 km/s. Results are as follows: Interstellar Fe II lines give NL (Fe(+)) = 1-2 x 10(exp 14)/sq cm with a Doppler width of 7 km/s; depletions of heavy elements along the line of sight to this star are similar to those for other stars with low interstellar densities. Photospheric lines yield a new velocity amplitude for the B star, K(sub B) = 23.2 +/- 1.0 km/s, which gives the mass ratio M(sub K)/M(sub B) = 1.66 and masses M(sub B) = 7.1 solar mass and M(sub K) = 11.7 solar mass. Existing photometry gives R(sub K) = 197 solar radius, R(sub B) = 5.2 solar radius, and i = 87.19 deg. Breadths of photospheric lines imply the rotational velocity of the B star is V sin i = 70-80 km/s. Most of the wind features are formed in a shell much larger than the binary system for which the terminal velocity seems to be 73 +/- 2 km/s, but it may be as high as approximately 90 km/s. The Doppler width (approximately 13 km/s) of Fe II shell lines likely results from acceleration of the wind, although it could reflect orbital motion of the K supergiant. Shell lines of Mg II and Si II are roughly consistent with Fe II, although their strengths are phase dependent, while S II requires a somewhat thicker shell in S(+) than in Fe(+) with a greater spread in expansion velocity. Shell lines of O I and N I are abnormally weak, if detected at all, and this implies that hydrogen is ionized throughout much of the wind. Lines of highly ionized species (C IV, Si Iv, and N V) appear sporadically in the spectrum and have inverse P Cyg profiles implying collapse (probably of an accretion disk) onto the B star. They do not seem to be isolated at particular phases as might be expected for formation in a conical shock front around an accretion column. I argue that the wind is roughly isotopic and is accelerated slowly, in agreement with existing ideas about winds.

Eaton, Joel A.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Direct measurement of the plasma screening length and surface potential near the lunar terminator

Direct measurement of the lunar dayside surface potential and screening length has been made by the suprathermal ion detector experiment (Side) near the terminator. In a region 20-30 deg from the terminator at the Apollo 14 and 15 sites the surface potential is found to be approximately 50 V negative, and the screening length to be about 1 km. This value of the screening length is more than 2 orders of magnitude greater than the solar wind 'Debye' length. The strong negative surface potential in this region may be due to enhanced temperature and density of the solar wind plasma.

Benson, J.↗