THERE IS NO COMETOPAUSE AT COMET HALLEY

Citation
H. Reme et al., THERE IS NO COMETOPAUSE AT COMET HALLEY, J GEO R-S P, 99(A2), 1994, pp. 2301-2308
Citations number
36
Categorie Soggetti
Geosciences, Interdisciplinary","Astronomy & Astrophysics","Metereology & Atmospheric Sciences
Journal title
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SPACE PHYSICS
ISSN journal
21699380 → ACNP
Volume
99
Issue
A2
Year of publication
1994
Pages
2301 - 2308
Database
ISI
SICI code
2169-9380(1994)99:A2<2301:TINCAC>2.0.ZU;2-E
Abstract
Immediately after the flybys at comet Halley by a fleet of spacecraft in 1986, Gringauz et al. (1986a) reported the detection by the Vega-2 spacecraft of a chemical and sharp plasma boundary, which they named t he ''cometopause,'' at a distance of similar to 1.6x10(5) km from the nucleus. Gringauz and Verigin (1991) presented the ''cometopause'' as a permanent feature of the solar wind - Halley type comet interaction at similar to 1 UA from the Sun. This permanent boundary presumably se parates an upstream region dominated by the solar wind from the downst ream region where heavy cometary ions dominate. We present here the an alysis of the results of the Giotto positive ion cluster composition a nalyzer - Reme plasma analyzer (PICCA-RPA2) ion mass spectrometer and electron electrostatic analyzer - Reme plasma analyzer (EESA-RPA1) ele ctron spectrometer data, which clearly show that there is no such boun dary at comet Halley.