Neutral Solar Wind Generated by Lunar Exospheric Dust at the Terminator

Details Neutral Solar Wind Generated by Lunar Exospheric Dust at the Terminator Neutral Solar Wind Generated by Lunar Exospheric Dust at the Terminator

Dec 2007

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007agufmsh12a0851c&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2007, abstract #SH12A-0851

Physics

7837 Neutral Particles (2151)

Scientific paper

We calculate the flux of neutral solar wind observed on the lunar surface at the terminator due to solar wind protons penetrating exospheric dust with: (1) grains larger that 0.1μm and (2) grains larger than 0.01μm. For grains larger than 0.1μm, the ratio of the neutral solar wind to solar wind flux is estimated to be ~10-4-10-3 at solar wind speeds in excess of 800 km/s, but much lower (<10-5) at average to low solar wind speeds. However, when the smaller grain sizes are considered, the ratio of the neutral solar wind flux to solar wind flux is estimated to be ≥10-5 at all speeds and at speeds in excess of 700 km/s reaches 10-3-10-2. These neutral solar wind fluxes are easily measurable with current low energy neutral atom instrumentation. Observations of neutral solar wind from the surface of the Moon could provide a very sensitive determination of the distribution of very small dust grains in the lunar exosphere and would provide data complementary to optical measurements at ultraviolet and visible wavelengths. Furthermore, neutral solar wind, unlike its ionized counterpart, is not held-off by magnetic anomalies, and may contribute to greater space weathering than expected in certain lunar locations.

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