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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 235 records · Page 13
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

Upstream pressure variations associated with the bow shock and their effects on the magnetosphere

The AMPTE IRM solar wind data are analyzed to determine the relationship between upstream pressure fluctuations and magnetospheric perturbations. It is argued that the upstream pressure variations are not inherent in the solar wind but rather are associated with the bow shock. This conclusion follows from the fact that the upstream field strength and density associated with perturbations are highly correlated with each other, while they tend to be anticorrelated in the undisturbed solar wind, and that the upstream perturbations occur within the foreshock or at its boundary. The results imply a mode of interaction between the solar wind upstream and the magnetosphere whereby density changes produced in the foreshock subsequently convect through the bow shock and impinge on the magnetosphere. Upstream pressure perturbations should create significant effects on the magnetopause and at the foot of nearby field lines that lead to the polar cusp ionosphere.

Fairfield, D. H.↗
NASA NTRS1989

The density of cometary protons upstream of Comet Halley's bow shock

Cometary protons picked up by the solar wind were detected by the high energy range spectrometer of the Giotto ion mass spectrometer starting at a cometocentric distance of about 12 million km. On the average, the density of cometary protons varied approximately as the inverse square of the cometocentric distance, reaching a value of 0.11/cu cm just outside the bow shock. The data can be successfully fit to models that include substantial amounts of both slow (1 km/s) and fast (8 km/s or greater) H atoms beyond the bow shock. Large local variations in the density of picked-up protons can be explained on the basis of variations in the direction of the interplanetary magnetic field in upstream regions where pitch angle scattering was weak.

Neugebauer, M.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Detection of singly ionized energetic lunar pick-up ions upstream of earth's bow shock

Singly ionized suprathermal ions upstream of the earth's bow shock have been detected by using the time-of-flight spectrometer SULEICA on the AMPTE/IRM satellite. The data were collected between August and December 1985. The flux of the ions in the mass range between 23 and 37 amu is highly anisotropic towards the earth. The ions are observed with a period of about 29 days around new moon (+/- 3 days). The correlation of the energy of the ions with the solar wind speed and the interplanetary magnetic field orientation indicates the relation to the pick-up process. We conclude that the source of these pick-up ions is the moon. We argue that due to the impinging solar wind, atoms are sputtered off the lunar surface, ionized in the sputtering process or by ensuing photoionization and picked up by the solar wind.

Hilchenbach, M.↗
NASA NTRS2013

THEMIS Observations of Unusual Bow Shock Motion, Attending a Transient Magnetospheric Event

We present a multipoint case study of solar wind and magnetospheric observations during a transient magnetospheric compression at 2319 UT on October 15, 2008. We use high-time resolution magnetic field and plasma data from the THEMIS and GOES-11/12 spacecraft to show that this transient event corresponded to an abrupt rotation in the IMF orientation, a change in the location of the foreshock, and transient outward bow shock motion. We employ results from a global hybrid code model to reconcile the observations indicating transient inward magnetopause motion with the outward bow shock motion.

Korotova, Galina↗
NASA NTRS1991

ULF waves upstream of the Venus bow shock - Properties of one-hertz waves

Pioneer Venus Orbiter data are used here to study the properties of a class of ULF upstream waves with relatively high observed frequencies. These waves show significant similarity to 'one-Hz' waves identified at earth in the ISEE 1 and 2 observations and the whistler waves identified earlier by IMP 6 observations. The waves appear almost immediately after the spacecraft crosses the magnetic field tangent line to the bow shock surface into the region of connected field lines. The wave amplitude decreases with distance from the shock measured along the magnetic field line. Group velocities calculated using the cold plasma dispersion relation indicate that the waves have sufficient upstream velocities to propagate form the shock into the solar wind. The totality of observations seem best explained by a source of right-handed whistler mode waves at the bow shock.

Orlowski, D. S.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Conduction of thermal energy in the neighborhood of the earth's bow shock

The Rankine-Hugoniot equations for MHD shocks are generalized by the addition of a term to the energy conservation equation representing a nonzero heat flow in the plasma in the neighborhood of the shock. This generalization is found to be compatible with the assumption of infinite electrical conductivity. The effects of plasma waves in this treatment are of the order of the reciprocal Alfvenic Mach number squared and hence are neglected. The effect of alpha particles in the solar wind is discussed. Seven crossings of the earth's bow shock by Explorer 35 in lunar orbit are analyzed. Sufficient data are available so that the determination of a dimensionless parameter, psi, characterizing the heat-flow difference across the bow shock is possible. The values of psi indicate energy-flux densities due to heat flow which are a nonnegligible fraction of the total energy flux. Two possible interpretations of psi are discussed.

Hohlfeld, R. G.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Gyrating and intermediate ion distributions upstream from the earth's bow shock

Study of ISEE 2 fast plasma data reveals that many suprathermal ion events that in previous studies would have been identified as intermediate ion events are actually gyrating ion events. Of 190 apparently intermediate ion events selected on the basis of their signature in energy-time spectrograms, half are actually found to be gyrating ion events. Using a model bow shock, the shock geometries and spacecraft locations for the observed gyrating and intermediate ion events are compared and found to be quite similar. Both gyrating and intermediate ion events are found to be associated with upstream MHD-like wave activity. Most gyrating ion events are associated with large-amplitude, monochromatic, weakly compressive waves, whereas many intermediate ion events are associated with smaller-amplitude, nonmonochromatic, weakly compressive waves. Some intermediate ion events are found to have no associated waves. Detailed study of the gyrating ion distributions reveals that the distributions are typically gyrotropic within about 4 earth radii of the bow shock, whereas at larger distances (up to about 10 earth radii) upstream from the shock the distributions are frequently 'gyrophase bunched'. In light of these observational characteristics, it is concluded that gyrating ion distributions are most likely generated both through coherent wave disruption of field-aligned beams and through reflection of solar wind ions off the shock.

Fuselier, S. A.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Relativistic Electrons Produced by Foreshock Disturbances Observed Upstream of Earth's Bow Shock

Charged particles can be reflected and accelerated by strong (i.e., high Mach number) astrophysical collisionless shock waves, streaming away to form a foreshock region in communication with the shock. Foreshocks are primarily populated by suprathermal ions that can generate foreshock disturbances-largescale (i.e., tens to thousands of thermal ion Larmor radii), transient (approximately 5-10 per day) structures. They have recently been found to accelerate ions to energies of several keV. Although electrons in Saturn's high Mach number (M > 40) bow shock can be accelerated to relativistic energies (nearly 1000 keV), it has hitherto been thought impossible to accelerate electrons beyond a few tens of keV at Earth's low Mach number (1 ≤M <20) bow shock. Here we report observations of electrons energized by foreshock disturbances to energies up to at least approximately 300 keV. Although such energetic electrons have been previously observed, their presence has been attributed to escaping magnetospheric particles or solar events. These relativistic electrons are not associated with any solar or magnetospheric activity. Further, due to their relatively small Larmor radii (compared to magnetic gradient scale lengths) and large thermal speeds (compared to shock speeds), no known shock acceleration mechanism can energize thermal electrons up to relativistic energies. The discovery of relativistic electrons associated with foreshock structures commonly generated in astrophysical shocks could provide a new paradigm for electron injections and acceleration in collisionless plasmas.

SLAMS↗
NASA NTRS2008

MESSENGER Observations of Mercury's Bow Shock and Magnetopause

MESSENGER'S 14 January 2008 encounter with Mercury will provide the first new observations of the solar wind interaction with this planet since the Mariner 10 flybys that took place over 30 years ago. The closest approach distance for this first MESSENGER flyby is targeted for an altitude of 200 km as compared with the 707 km and 327 km attained by Mariner 10 on 29 March 1974 and 16 March 1975, respectively. The locations of the bow shock and magnetopause boundaries observed by MESSENGER will be examined and compared against those found in the earlier Mariner 10 measurements and the predictions of theoretical models and numerical simulations. The structure of the magnetopause will be investigated for the presence of flux transfer events or other evidence of magnetic reconnection as will the more general implications of these new MESSENGER bow shock and magnetopause observations for the global solar wind interaction with Mercury.

Slavin, James A.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Protons and alpha particles in field-aligned beams upstream of the bow shock

Measurements of H(+) and He(2+) ions in field-aligned beams (about 10 keV/nuc) made with the AMPTE-CCE spacecraft are reported. The proton beam population has a density of less than about 1 percent of the solar wind density and a significant thermal anisotropy, in agreement with previous observations. The observed beam velocities are in reasonable agreement with the 'direct reflection' model, in which a portion of the solar wind is reflected and energized at the earth's bow shock, but are consistently larger than expected from magnetosheath leakage models. The He(2+) ions in the beams have approximately the same velocity as the H(+) ions, but the He(2+) to H(+) density ratio is dramatically smaller than that measured simultaneously in the solar wind. The present beam observations were obtained during several of the time intervals previously analyzed by other workers, using data from the same spacecraft, who attributed the streaming upstream ions to magnetospheric rather than bow shock origin.

Ipavich, F. M.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Reinterpretation of the Pioneer 6 bow shock crossing.

This paper re-examines and reinterprets the interesting bow shock crossing of Pioneer 6 on December 16, 1965, by combining the high-resolution data for the magnetic field measurements with all the available plasma data. It is shown that, although a small correction of the magnetic field data improves the validity test of the MHD Rankine-Hugoniot (R-H) conditions, it is the plasma density measurements that are the principal source of the remaining inconsistencies. With the exception of the densities, the best agreement between the measurements and the R-H relations is obtained when the specific heat ratio is slightly less than the classical value of 5/3 expected for a magnetized plasma in the magnetosheath. A more accurate shock normal determination has been made, and it is found that the shock itself is possibly in motion with respect to the earth and that locally it may be approximated as a normal shock.

Mariani, F.↗
NASA NTRS1985

A theory for the 2f(p) radiation upstream of the earth's bow shock

The mechanism responsible for the radiation observed near the earth bow shock at twice the plasma frequency f(p) is investigated theoretically. A model comprising two three-wave steps and involving Langmuir (L), ion-sound (S), and EM (t) waves is proposed: L + or - S yields L-prime; L + L-prime yields t. This model is shown to be consistent with observations of low-frequency S-like waves (Anderson et al., 1981), and further observational tests are suggested. A critical examination of the theory of Fung et al. (1982) is included, and it is found that an important term in the absorption coefficient was neglected. Correcting this error leads to an intrinsic theoretical brightness-temperature limit of 3 x 10 to the 9th K, well below the observed brightness temperature of the 2 f(p) radiation, about 10 to the 11th K.

Cairns, I. H.↗