Premium
The bow wave of comet Giacobini‐Zinner: Ice magnetic field observations
Author(s) -
Jones D. E.,
Smith E. J.,
Slavin J. A.,
Tsurutani B. T.,
Siscoe G. L.,
Mendis D. A.
Publication year - 1986
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/gl013i003p00243
Subject(s) - bow shock (aerodynamics) , physics , comet , bow wave , solar wind , mach number , shock wave , magnetic field , computational physics , geophysics , astrophysics , mechanics , quantum mechanics
Fitting of a Mach 2 shock surface to the ICE magnetic field data obtained near comet Giacobini‐Zinner has provided subsolar bow wave distances that infer neutral gas outflow rates comparable to previous measurements, and orientations of the bow wave symmetry axis that are consistent with the plasma measurements and motion of the comet relative to the solar wind. Mach values of 1.5‐2 and transition thicknesses of the order of 10 4 km are inferred when the field magnitude and variance data are compared. Cross spectra of the transverse field components in and near the bow wave exhibit a peak near 10 −2 Hz, or near the cyclotron frequency of ions from the water group. However, the level of turbulence is not consistent with that observed for similar configurations at planetary bow shocks.