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Plasma processes at comet Churyumov–Gerasimenko: Expectations for Rosetta

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 November 2013

D. A. MENDIS  and
M. HORÁNYI
D. A. MENDIS
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, San Diego La Jolla, CA 92037-0407, USA ([email protected])
M. HORÁNYI
Affiliation:
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, and Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
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Abstract

The Rosetta–Philae mission to comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko in 2014 will provide a unique opportunity to observe the variable nature of the interaction of a comet with the solar radiation and the solar wind, as the comet approaches the Sun. In this short paper we will focus on the varying global structure of the cometary plasma environment. Specifically we make predictions on the varying locations of the two basic transitions in the global, contaminated solar wind flow toward the comet: the outer bow shock and the ionopause.

Type
Papers
Information
Journal of Plasma Physics , Volume 79 , Special Issue 6: Special issue in memory of Professor Padma Kant Shukla 1950-2013 , December 2013 , pp. 1067 - 1070
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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