Premium
Possible detection of energetic Jovian heavy ions at Skylab orbit
Author(s) -
Price P. Buford
Publication year - 1979
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/gl006i009p00711
Subject(s) - jovian , jupiter (rocket family) , physics , magnetosphere , ion , atmosphere of jupiter , nucleon , astrobiology , low earth orbit , atomic physics , astronomy , nuclear physics , plasma , spacecraft , saturn , planet , satellite , quantum mechanics
Evidence for the presence of sodium ions at a concentration ∼10% that of oxygen among the particles with energies 10 to 20 MeV/nucleon seen with a detector on Skylab suggests that Jupiter is a significant source of energetic heavy particles inside the earth's magnetosphere. A numerical estimate based on the density of energetic sodium ions at 50 R J measured on Voyager I indicates that the source strength is adequate.