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The distribution of orbits of cosmic dust particles detected by Pioneers 8 and 9
Author(s) -
Weidenschilling S. J.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/gl005i007p00606
Subject(s) - cosmic ray , cosmic cancer database , physics , astronomy , distribution (mathematics) , cosmic dust , astrophysics , environmental science , astrobiology , mathematical analysis , mathematics
The orbits of cosmic dust particles detected by Pioneers 8 and 9 have large eccentricities, and semimajor axes < 1 AU. For prograde orbits, this distribution is shown to be due to a combination of impact probabilities and detector response. The presence of dust in larger "cometary" orbits is not excluded by the data. The reported retrograde orbits are improbable, and may be spurious.