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Observations of a shock and a recombination layer at the contact surface of Comet HalleyResults are presented on observations in the vicinity of the contact surface of the Comet Halley, obtained by the Giotto ion mass spectrometer, with emphasis placed on two specific events observed in this region on the inbound pass. One was a burst of energized ions (about 20 eV) of 2-sec duration observed two seconds before the contact surface was encountered, which coincided with a pulse in magnetic field strength interpreted by Neubauer (1988) as a fast-mode shock traveling away from the contact surface. The second was a sharp spike in ion densities observed at the contact surface by the mass analyzer, centered approximately at the inner edge of the contact surface. This ion-density spike is interpreted as a boundary layer into which the radial ionospheric flow enters and piles up; the density increase is limited by recombination.
Document ID
19900033703
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Goldstein, B. E.
(JPL Pasadena, CA, United States)
Altwegg, K.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Balsiger, H.
(Bern, Universitaet Switzerland)
Fuselier, S. A.
(Lockheed Research Laboratories Palo Alto, CA, United States)
Ip, W.-H.
(Max-Planck-Institut fuer Aeronomie Katlenburg-Lindau, Federal Republic of Germany, United States)
Date Acquired
August 14, 2013
Publication Date
December 1, 1989
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research
Volume: 94
ISSN: 0148-0227
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Accession Number
90A20758
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NASW-4336
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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