Observations of the flank of earth's bow shock to minus 110 R sub E by ISEE 3/ICE

Journal Article · Tue May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1990 · Geophysical Research Letters (American Geophysical Union); (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/GL017i006p00753· OSTI ID:6514343

Greenstadt, E W; Traver, D P; Coroniti, F V; Smith, E J; Slavin, J A ^[1]

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1. TRW, Redondo Beach, CA (USA) John Hopkins Univ., Laurel, MD (USA) NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD (USA)

The ISEE 3/ICE spacecraft made well over 100 crossings of Earth's bow shock between x(SEC) = {minus}20 and {minus}110 R{sub E}, most of them further away than {minus}60 R{sub E}, while resetting its course for comet Giacobini-Zinner. Magnetosonic Mach numbers M{sub MS} normal to the shock in this extreme downwind flank of the bow shock were generally no more than about 60%, often less than 35%, of their values at the subsolar point, so that this set of crossings consists of many examples of low M{sub MS} (M{sub MS} < 3) crossings, including rare quasi-parallel, as well as quasi-perpendicular, cases. The authors tabulate the parameters of the crossings, display some of their magnetic, plasma wave, and spectral profiles at low M{sub MS}, and compare loci of crossings with the extrapolation of a model of earlier statistical success, showing that the model remains useful in the far flank.

• OSTI ID: 6514343
• Journal Information: Geophysical Research Letters (American Geophysical Union); (USA), Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters (American Geophysical Union); (USA) Vol. 17:6; ISSN GPRLA; ISSN 0094-8276
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640201* -- Atmospheric Physics-- Auroral
Ionospheric
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71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
DISTANCE
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EARTH MAGNETOSPHERE
EARTH PLANET
FLUID FLOW
INTERACTIONS
MACH NUMBER
MAGNETOTAIL
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
PLANETS
PLASMA WAVES
SATELLITES
SHOCK WAVES
SOLAR ACTIVITY
SOLAR WIND
SUPERSONIC FLOW
THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
VELOCITY