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The interplanetary and near-Jupiter meteoroid environmentsThe meteoroid penetration detectors on the Pioneer 10 spacecraft recorded 67 meteoroid penetrations through the 25-micron stainless steel test material while the spacecraft was between 1.0 and 5.1 AU. Ten of these penetrations occurred during the encounter with Jupiter. The cumulative spatial density of meteoroids with masses greater than 2 nanograms has been calculated from these data for interplanetary space and for the near-Jupiter space. The spatial density is found to be essentially constant in interplanetary space between 1 and 5 AU, approximately 1 meteoroid per cubic km, and 1-2 orders of magnitude greater near Jupiter. There was no increase in the spatial density of meteoroids in the asteroid belt and hence no evidence that there is a significant asteroidal component of 2-nanogram meteoroids. It is uncertain whether the meteoroids detected near Jupiter were in orbit about Jupiter or were gravitationally focused toward the planet from solar orbits.
Document ID
19740060920
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Humes, D. H.
Alvarez, J. M.
Oneal, R. L.
Kinard, W. H.
(NASA Langley Research Center Space Applications and Technology Div., Hampton, Va., United States)
Date Acquired
August 7, 2013
Publication Date
September 1, 1974
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research
Volume: 79
Subject Category
Space Sciences
Accession Number
74A43670
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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