Electrostatic waves in the bow shock at Uranus
- TRW Space and Technology Group, Redondo Beach, CA (USA)
- National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (USA)
- Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD (USA)
- Univ. of California, San Diego, La Jolla (USA)
- Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City (USA)
Electrostatic emissions measured by the Voyager 2 plasma wave detector (PWS) during the inbound crossing of the Uranian bow shock are shown to differ in some aspects from the waves measured during bow shock crossings at Jupiter and Saturn. The wave amplitudes in the foot of the bow shock at Uranus are in general much lower than those detected at the other out planets due to the unusually enhanced solar wind ion temperature during the crossing. This reduces the effectiveness of wave-particle interactions in heating the incoming electrons. Strong wave emissions are observed in the shock ramp that possibly arise from currents producing a Buneman mode instability. Plasma instrument (PLS) and magnetometer (MAG) measurements reveal a complicated shock structure reminiscent of computer simulations of high-Mach number shocks when the effects of anomalous resistivity are reduced, and are consistent with high ion temperatures restricting the growth of electrostatic waves.
- OSTI ID:
- 6051100
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Geophysical Research; (USA), Vol. 94:A10; ISSN 0148-0227
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
GENERAL PHYSICS
SOLAR WIND
INTERACTIONS
URANUS PLANET
AMPLITUDES
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
HEATING
ION TEMPERATURE
JUPITER PLANET
PLASMA INSTABILITY
PLASMA WAVES
SHOCK WAVES
VOYAGER SPACE PROBES
INSTABILITY
PLANETS
SOLAR ACTIVITY
SPACE VEHICLES
VEHICLES
640107* - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Planetary Phenomena