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1.
Altitude profiles of electron temperature and density in the ionosphere of Venus have been obtained by the Pioneer Venus orbiter electron temperatutre probe. Elevated temperatutres observed at times of low solar wind flux exhibit height profiles that are consistent with a model in which less than 5 percent of the solar wind energy is deposited at the ionopause and is conducted downward through an unmagnetized ionosphere to the region below 200 kilomneters where electron cooling to the neutral atmosphere proceeds rapidly. When solar wind fluxes are higher, the electron temperatures and densities are highly structured and the ionopause moves to lower altitudes. The ionopause height in the late afternoon sector observed thus far varies so widely from day to (day that any height variation with solar zenith angle is not apparent in the observations. In the neighborhood of the ionopause, measuremnents of plasma temperatures and densities and magnetic field strength indicate that an induced magnetic barrier plays an important role in the pressure transfer between the solar wind and the ionosphere. The bow, shock is marked by a distinct increase in electron current collected by the instrument, a featutre that provides a convenient identification of the bow shock location.  相似文献   

2.
Abrupt changes in the amplitude of the magnetic fluctuations, in the field strength, and in the plasma properties, were observed with Mariner V near Venus. They provide clear evidence for the presence of a bow shock around the planet, similar to, but much smaller than, that observed at Earth. The observations appear consistent with an interaction of the solar wind with the ionosphere of Venus. No planetary field could be detected, but a steady radial field and very low plasma density were found 10,000 to 20,000 kilometers behind Venus and 8,000 to 12,000 kilometers from the Sun-Venus line. These observations may be interpreted as relating to an expansion wave tending to fill the cavity produced by Venus in the solar wind. The upper limit to the magnetic dipole moment of Venus is estimated to be within a factor of 2 of 10(-3) items that of Earth.  相似文献   

3.
Initial results of observations of the solar wind interaction with Venus indicate that Venus has a well-defined, strong, standing bow shock wave. Downstream from the shock, an ionosheath is observed in which the compressed and heated postshock plasma evidently interacts directly with the Venus ionosphere. Plasma ion velocity deflections observed within the ionosheath are consistent with flow around the blunt shape of the ionopause. The ionopause boundary is observed and defined by this experiment as the location where the ionosheath ion flow is first excluded. The positions of the bow shock and ionopause are variable and appear to respond to changes in the external solar wind pressure. Near the terminator the bow shock was observed at altitudes of approximately 4600 to approximately 12,000 kilometers. The ionopause altitutde ranged fromn as low as approximately 450 to approximately 1950 kilometers. Within the Venus ionosphere low-energy ions (energy per untit charge < 30 volts) were detected and have been tentatively idtentified as nonflowing ionospheric ions incident from a direction along the spacecraft velocity vector.  相似文献   

4.
Thermal plasma quantities measured by, the retarding potential analyzer (RPA) are, together with companion Pioneer Venus measurements, the first in situ measurements of the Venus ionosphere. High ionospheric ion and electron temperatures imply significant solar wind heating of the ionosphere. Comparison of the measured altitude profiles of the dominant ions with an initial modlel indicates that the ionosphere is close to diffusive equilibrium. The ionopause height was observed to vary from 400 to 1000 kilometers in early orbits. The ionospheric particle pressure at the ionopause is apparently balanced at a solar zenith angle of about 70 degrees by the magnetic field pressure with little contribution from energetic solar wind particles. The measured ratio of ionospheric scale height to ionopause radius is consistent with that inferred from previously measured bow shock positions.  相似文献   

5.
Plasma measurements were obtained with the Galileo spacecraft during an approximately 3.5-hour interval in the vicinity of Venus on 10 February 1990. Several crossings of the bow shock in the local dawn sector were recorded before the spacecraft passed into the solar wind upstream from this planet. Although observations of ions of the solar wind and the postshock magnetosheath plasmas were not possible owing to the presence of a sunshade for thermal protection of the instrument, solar wind densities and bulk speeds were determined from the electron velocity distributions. A magnetic field-aligned distribution of hotter electrons or ;;strahl' was also found in the solar wind. Ions streaming into the solar wind from the bow shock were detected. Electron heating at the bow shock, 相似文献   

6.
Results are presented from a preliminary analysis of data obtained near Mercury on 29 March 1974 by the NASA-GSFC magnetic field experiment on Mariner 10. Rather unexpectedly, a very well-developed, detached bow shock wave, which develops as the super-Alfvénic solar wind interacts with the planet, has been observed. In addition, a magnetosphere-like region, with maximum field strength of 98 gammas at closest approach (704 kilometers altitude), has been observed, contained within boundaries similar to the terrestrial magnetopause. The obstacle deflecting the solar wind flow is global in size, but the origin of the enhanced magnetic field has not yet been uniquely established. The field may be intrinsic to the planet and distorted by interaction with the solar wind. It may also be associated with a complex induction process whereby the planetary interior-atmosphere-ionosphere interacts with the solar wind flow to generate the observed field by a dynamo action. The complete body of data favors the preliminary conclusion that Mercury has an intrinsic magnetic field. If this is correct, it represents a major scientific discovery in planetary magnetism and will have considerable impact on studies of the origin of the solar system.  相似文献   

7.
The Pioneer Venus electric field detector observes significant effects of the interaction of the solar wind with the ionosphere of Venus all along the orbiter trajectory. Information is obtained on plasma oscillations emitted by suprathermal electrons beyond the bows shock, on sharp and diffuse shock structures, and on waveparticle interaction phenomena that are important near the boundary of the dayside ionosphere.  相似文献   

8.
Additional plasma measurements in the vicinity of Venus are presented which show that (i) there are three distinct plasma electron populations-solar wind electrons, ionosheath electrons, and nightside ionosphere electrons; (ii) the plasma ion flow pattern in the ionosheath is consistent with deflected flow around a blunt obstacle; (iii) the plasma ion flow velocities near the downstream wake may, at times, be consistent with the deflection of plasma into the tail, closing the solar wind cavity downstream from Venus at a relatively close distance (within 5 Venus radii) to the planet; (iv) there is a separation between the inner boundary of the downstream ionosheath and the upper boundary of the nightside ionosphere; and (v) during the first 4.5 months in orbit the measured solar wind plasma speed continued to vary, showing a number of high-speed, but generally nonrecurrent, streams.  相似文献   

9.
The NASA-GSFC magnetic field experiment on Mariner 10 is the first flight of a dual magnetometer system conceived to permit accurate measurements of weak magnetic fields in space in the presence of a significant and variable spacecraft magnetic field. Results from a preliminary analysis of a limted data set are summarized in this report, which is restricted primarily to Venus encounter. A detached bow shock wave that develops as the super Alfvénic solar wind interacts with the Venusian atmosphere has been observed. However, the unique coincidence of trajectory position and interplanetary field orientation at the time of bow shock crossing led to a very disturbed shock profile with considerably enhanced upstream magnetic fluctuations. At present it is not possible to ascertain the nature and characteristics of the obstacle responsible for deflecting the solar wind flow. Far downstream disturbances associated with the solar wind wake have been observed.  相似文献   

10.
Snyder CW 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》1967,158(3809):1665-1669
On 19 October 1967 the Mariner V spacecraft passed by Venus 10,151 kilometers from the center of the planet; the gravitational field, atmosphere, ionosphere, hydrogen corona, and interaction with the solar wind were observed.  相似文献   

11.
A strong interaction between the solar wind and comet Giacobini-Zinner was observed oh 11 September 1985 with the Los Alamos plasma electron experiment on the International Cometary Explorer (ICE) spacecraft. As ICE approached an intercept point 7800 kilometers behind the nucleus from the south and receded to the north, upstream phenomena due to the comet were observed. Periods of enhanced electron heat flux from the comet as well as almost continuous electron density fluctuations were measured. These effects are related to the strong electron heating observed in the cometary interaction region and to cometary ion pickup by the solar wind, respectively. No evidence for a conventional bow shock was found as ICE entered and exited the regions of strongest interaction of the solar wind with the cometary environment. The outer extent of this strong interaction zone was a transition region in which the solar wind plasma was heated, compressed, and slowed. Inside the inner boundary of the transition region was a sheath that enclosed a cold intermediate coma. In the transition region and sheath, small-scale enhancements in density were observed. These density spikes may be due to an instability associated with cometary ion pickup or to the passage of ICE through cometary ray structures. In the center of the cold intermediate coma a narrow, high-density core of plasma, presumably the developing plasma tail was found. In some ways this tail can be compared to the plasma sheet in Earth's magnetotail and to the current sheet in the tail at Venus. This type of configuration is expected in the double-lobe magnetic topology detected at the comet, possibly caused by the theoretically expected draping of the interplanetary magnetic field around its ionosphere.  相似文献   

12.
In situ nightside electric field observations from the Pioneer Venus Orbiter have been interpreted as evidence of extensive lightning in the lower atmosphere of Venus. The scenario, including proposed evidence of clustering of lightning over surface highland regions, has encouraged the acceptance of currently active volcanic output as part of several investigations of the dynamics and chemistry of the atmosphere and the geology of the planet. However, the correlation between the 100-hertz electric field events attributed to lightning and nightside ionization troughs resulting from the interaction of the solar wind with the ionosphere indicates that the noise results from locally generated plasma instabilities and not from any behavior of the lower atmosphere. Furthermore, analysis of the spatial distribution of the noise shows that it is not clustered over highland topography, but rather occurs at random throughout the latitude and longitude regions sampled by the orbiter during the first 5 years of operation, from 1978 to 1984. Thus the electric field observations do not identify lightning and do not provide a basis for inferring the presence of currently active volcanic output. In the absence of known evidence to the contrary, it appears that Venus is no longer active.  相似文献   

13.
Bennett radio-frequency ion mass spectrometers have returned the first in situ measurements of the Venus dayside ion composition, including evidence of pronounced structural variability resulting from a dynamic interaction with the solar wind. The ionospheric envelope, dominated above 200 kilometers by O(+), responds dramatically to variations in the solar wind pressure, Which is observed to compress the thermal ion distributions from heights as great as 1800 kilometers inward to 280 kilometers. At the thermal ion boundary, or ionopause, the ambient ions are swept away by the solar wind, such that a zone of accelerated suprathermnal plasma is encountered. At higher altitudes, extending outward on some orbits for thousands of kilometers to the bows shock, energetic ion currents are detected, apparently originating from the shocked solar wind plasma. Within the ionosphere, observations of pass-to-pass differences in the ion scale heights are indicative of the effects of ion convection stimlulated by the solar wind interaction.  相似文献   

14.
The University of Chicago instrumnents on board the Mariner 10 spacecraft bound for Mercury have measured energy spectra and fluxes of electrons from 0.18 to 30 million electron volts and protons from 0.5 to 68 million electron volts along the plasma wake and in the bow shock regions associated with Venus. Unusually quiet solar conditions and improved instrumentation made it possible to search for much lower fluxes of protons and electrons in similar energy regions as compared to earlier Mariner missions to Venus-that is, lower by a factor of 10(2) for protons and 10(3) for electrons. We found no evidence for electrons or protons either in the form of increases of intensity or energy spectral changes in the vicinity of the planet, nor any evidence of bursts of radiation in or near the observed bow shock where bursts of electrons might have been expected in analogy with the bow shock at the earth. The importance of these null results for determining the necessary and sufficient conditions for particle acceleration is discussed with respect to magnetometer evidence that Venus does not have a magnetosphere.  相似文献   

15.
Pioneer Venus orbiter dual-frequency radio occultation measurements have produced many electron density profiles of the nightside ionosphere of Venus. Thirty-six of these profiles, measured at solar zenith angles (chi) from 90.60 degrees to 163.5 degrees , are discussed here. In the "deep" nightside ionosphere (chi > 110 degrees ), the structure and magnitude of the ionization peak are highly variable; the mean peak electron density is 16,700 +/- 7,200 (standard deviation) per cubic centimeter. In contrast, the altitude of the peak remains fairly constant with a mean of 142.2 +/- 4.1 kilometers, virtually identical to the altitude of the main peak of the dayside terminator ionosphere. The variations in the peak ionization are not directly related to contemporal variations in the solar wind speed. It is shown that electron density distributions similar to those observed in both magnitude and structure can be produced by the precipitation on the nightside of Venus of electron fluxes of about 108 per square centimeter per second with energies less than 100 electron volts. This mechanism could very likely be responsible for the maintenance of the persistent nightside ionosphere of Venus, although transport processes may also be important.  相似文献   

16.
Pioneer Venus in situ measurements made with the retarding potential analyzer reveal strong variations in the nightside ionospheric plasma density from location to location in some orbits and from orbit to orbit. The ionopause is evident at night as a relatively abrupt decrease in the thermal plasma concentration from a few hundred to ten or fewer ions per cubic centimeter. The nightside ion and electron temperatures above an altitude of 250 kilometers, within the ionosphere and away from the terminator, are comparable in magnitude and have a value at the ionopause of approximately 8000 K. The electron temperature increases from a few tens of thousands of degrees Kelvin just outside the ionopause to several hundreds of thoussands of degrees Kelvin further into the shocked solar wind. The coldest ion temperatures measured at an altitude of about 145 kilometers are 140 to 150 K and are still evidently above the neutral temperature. Preliminary day-and nightside model ion and electron temperature height profiles are compared with measured profiles. To raise the model ion temperature to the measured ion temperature on both day-and nightsides, it was necessary to include an ion energy source of the order of 4 x 10(-3) erg per square centimeter per second, presumably Joule heating. The heat flux through the electron gas from the solar wind into the neutral atmosphere averaged over day and night may be as large as 0.05 erg per square centimeter per second. Integrated over the planet surface, this heat flux represents one-tenth of the solar wind energy expended in drag on the sunward ionopause hemisphere.  相似文献   

17.
Preliminary results from the rearward-looking electrostatic analyzer of the plasma science experiment during the Mariner 10 encounter with Venus are described. They show that the solar-wind interaction with the planet probably involves a bow shock rather than an extended exosphere, but that this is not a thin boundary at the point where it was crossed by Mariner 10. An observed reduction in the flux of electrons with energies greater than 100 electron volts is interpreted as evidence for somne direct interaction with the exosphere. Unusual intermittent features observed downstream of the planet indicate the presence of a comet-like tail hundreds of scale lengths in length.  相似文献   

18.
Empirical models of the electron temperature and electron density of the late afternoon and nightside Venus ionosphere have been derived from Pioneer Venus measurements acquired between 10 December 1978 and 23 March 1979. The models describe the average ionosphere conditions near 18 degrees N latitude between 150 and 700 kilometers altitude for solar zenith angles of 80 degrees to 180 degrees . The average index of solar flux was 200. A major feature of the density model is the factor of 10 decrease beyond 90 degrees followed by a very gradual decrease between 120 degrees and 180 degrees . The density at 150 degrees is about five times greater than observed by Venera 9 and 10 at solar minimum (solar flux approximately 80), a difference that is probably related to the effects of increased solar activity on the processes that maintain the nightside ionosphere. The nightside electron density profile from the model (above 150 kilometers) can be reproduced theoretically either by transport of 0(+) ions from the dayside or by precipitation of low-energy electrons. The ion transport process would require a horizontal flow velocity of about 300 meters per second, a value that is consistent with other Pioneer Venus observations. Although currently available energetic electron data do not yet permit the role of precipitation to be evaluated quantitatively, this process is clearly involved to some extent in the formation of the nightside ionosphere. Perhaps the most surprising feature of the temperature model is that the electron temperature remains high throughout the nightside ionosphere. These high nocturnal temperatures and the existence of a well-defined nightside ionopause suggest that energetic processes occur across the top of the entire nightside ionosphere, maintaining elevated temperatures. A heat flux of 2 x 10(10) electron volts per square centimeter per second, introduced at the ionopause, is consistent with the average electron temperature profile on the nightside at a solar zenith angle of 140 degrees .  相似文献   

19.
During the 10 February 1990 flyby of Venus, the Galileo spacecraft skimmed the downstream flank of the planetary bow shock. This provided an opportunity to examine both the global and the local structure of the shock in an interval during which conditions in the solar wind plasma were quite steady. The data show that the cross section of the shock in planes transverse to the flow is smaller in directions aligned with the projection of the interplanetary magnetic field than in directions not so aligned. Ultralow-frequency waves were present in the unshocked solar wind, and their amplitude peaked when the spacecraft was downstream of the foreshock. At large distances down the tail, the Mach number of the flow normal to the shock is low, thus providing the opportunity to study repeated crossings of the collisionless shock in an interesting parameter regime. Some of the shock crossings reveal structure that comes close to the theoretically predicted form of intermediate shocks, whose existence in collisionless plasmas has not been confirmed.  相似文献   

20.
Results obtained by the Goddard Space Flight Center magnetometers on Voyager 1 are described. These results concern the large-scale configuration of the Jovian bow shock and magnetopause, and the magnetic field in both the inner and outer magnetosphere. There is evidence that a magnetic tail extending away from the planet on the nightside is formed by the solar wind-Jovian field interaction. This is much like Earth's magnetosphere but is a new configuration for Jupiter's magnetosphere not previously considered from earlier Pioneer data. We report on the analysis and interpretation of magnetic field perturbations associated with intense electrical currents (approximately 5 x 10(6) amperes) flowing near or in the magnetic flux tube linking Jupiter with the satellite Jo and induced by the relative motion between Io and the corotating Jovian magnetosphere. These currents may be an important source of heating the ionosphere and interior of Io through Joule dissipation.  相似文献   

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