Characteristics of spectra from the Martian bow shock and comparison with Venus, Earth, AMPTE, Jupiter, and Saturn

Journal Article · Mon Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1991 · Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/91JA00673· OSTI ID:5224502

Moses, S L ^[1]; Kennel, C F; Strangeway, R J ^[2]; Grard, R; Nairn, C ^[3]

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1. Univ. of California, Los Angeles (USA) TRW Space and Technology Group, Redondo Beach, CA (USA)
2. Univ. of California, Los Angeles (USA)
3. European Space Agency, Noordwijk (Netherlands)

The authors present plasma wave spectra from crossings of the Martian bow shock by the Phobos 2 spacecraft and compare them with spectra from bow shocks at other planets and the AMPTE lithium release. They find that the shock spectra of the inner planets are very similar in shape, and their wave energy densities, when normalized to the upstream electron thermal energy density, are comparable. However, the Martian shock spectrum most resembles the spectrum from AMPTE, which may indicate either the presence of pickup particles or processes involving ions with gyroradii that are large compared with the size of the interaction region. The normalized wave amplitudes at Mars are midway between the high normalized amplitudes found at Jupiter and Saturn and the lower, normalized amplitudes at Earth. This is consistent with a trend that has recently been shown to occur out to Neptune's bow shock.

• OSTI ID: 5224502
• Journal Information: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States), Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States) Vol. 96:A7; ISSN JGREA; ISSN 0148-0227
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640107* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Planetary Phenomena
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
AMPLITUDES
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
EARTH PLANET
ELECTRON DENSITY
EVALUATION
INTERACTIONS
JUPITER PLANET
MARS PLANET
NEPTUNE PLANET
PLANETS
PLASMA WAVES
SATURN PLANET
SHOCK WAVES
SOLAR ACTIVITY
SOLAR WIND
SPECTRA
VENUS PLANET