Intrusion of the solar wind protons into the near-Moon wake revealed by SELENE (KAGUYA) (Invited)

Details Intrusion of the solar wind protons into the near-Moon wake revealed by SELENE (KAGUYA) (Invited) Intrusion of the solar wind protons into the near-Moon wake revealed by SELENE (KAGUYA) (Invited)

Dec 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009agufm.p32a..02n&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #P32A-02

Physics

Plasma Physics

[2780] Magnetospheric Physics / Solar Wind Interactions With Unmagnetized Bodies, [6250] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Moon, [7807] Space Plasma Physics / Charged Particle Motion And Acceleration, [7845] Space Plasma Physics / Particle Acceleration

Scientific paper

We study solar wind (SW) intrusion into the near-Moon wake using plasma data obtained by the SELENE (KAGUYA) spacecraft. It has been known that SW protons flowing around the Moon access the central region of the distant lunar wake, while SW intrusion deep into the near-Moon wake has never been expected. Here we report two mechanisms (which we call Type-I and Type-II, respectively) of SW proton entry deep into the near-Moon wake, using plasma and magnetic field data obtained by the SELENE spacecraft at 100 km height from the lunar surface. The key process of the Type-I entry is acceleration of the SW protons by the bipolar electric field around the wake boundary. This entry mechanism lets the SW protons come fairly deep into the wake (solar zenith angle (SZA) 150 degrees) at 100 km height. On the other hand, the Type-II entry is based on the SW proton scattering on the dayside; SW protons are once scattered at the lunar dayside surface, picked-up by the SW motional electric field, and finally access the deepest wake (SZA>150 degrees). Both entry mechanisms occur in the direction perpendicular to the interplanetary magnetic field, but only Type-II mechanism lets the SW protons come into the deepest wake that the SW protons are not anticipated to access. The Type-II entry forms the proton-governed region (PGR) in one hemisphere of the near-Moon wake, giving rise to a strong asymmetry of the near-Moon wake environment. Our results mean that not only SW electrons but also protons are crucial for plasma environment in the wake.

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