On the electrostatic charging of the cometary nucleus

Details On the electrostatic charging of the cometary nucleus On the electrostatic charging of the cometary nucleus

Oct 1981

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1981apj...249..787m&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal, Part 1, vol. 249, Oct. 15, 1981, p. 787-797.

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

55

Comet Nuclei, Electrostatic Charge, Interplanetary Dust, Particle Charging, Plasma-Particle Interactions, Solar Wind, Astronomical Models, Interplanetary Medium, Particle Mass, Solar Radiation, Ultraviolet Radiation, Comets, Comet Nuclei, Electrostatic Effects, Distance, Water, Dust, Solar Wind, Solar Radiation, Ultraviolet, Wavelengths, Surface, Mass, Electrical Properties, Models, Erosion, Thickness, Data, Ions, Density, Grains, Size, Charged Particles, Long Period Comets, Composition

Scientific paper

The paper demonstrates that a water-dominated cometary nucleus is not shielded from solar UV radiation or solar wind by protective atmospheres beyond a heliocentric distance of 5 AU. It is also shown that submicron dust particles can be electrostatically levitated and blown off the cometary surface. An upper limit on the total mass that can be lost from the sunlit hemisphere is derived using two solar wind models, and the dust mantle erosion is estimated at 5-12 cm. It is noted that the erosion is comparable to the mass of dust blown off a typical medium bright comet by the viscous drag of the sublimating gases during perihelium passage between 3.0 and 0.5 AU, and it is therefore proposed, that the surface dust blow-off be included in the current balance equation.

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