Physics
Scientific paper
Jul 1993
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1993hst..prop.4529b&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #4529
Physics
Hst Proposal Id #4529
Scientific paper
We propose to carry out high-resolution imagery of the near-nuclear regions of a comet for the purpose of determining the structure and evolution of the plasma. These images will determine the nature of the comet's interaction with the solar wind, show the morphology of the comet's magnetic field, provide a critical test of mechanisms for disconnection events (DE's), and assist in determining the important mechanism for ionizing molecules in comets. The interaction of the solar wind with comets -- capture of solar magnetic field lines, formation of the plasma tail, formation of rays, activity including disconnection events, ionization of molecules -- is widely believed to follow a standard paradigm. None of the features of the paradigm have been verified for nuclear distances less than 300 km or with spatial resolutions comparable to the expected dimension of fine structure. This dimension is the Larmor radius of water ions, for this case ~15 km. For a comet at 0.5 AU, the WF/PC image would be approximately 50,000 km on a side with a resolution of 37 km. Such an image would provide, by far, the most stringent test of our physical view of the comet/solar wind interaction.
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