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    Birth of a comet magnetosphere: A spring of water ions

    Publication date: 23 January 2015

    Authors: Nilsson, H., et al.

    Journal: Science
    Volume: 347
    Issue: 6220
    Year: 2015

    Copyright: AAAS

    The Rosetta mission shall accompany comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from a heliocentric distance of >3.6 astronomical units through perihelion passage at 1.25 astronomical units, spanning low and maximum activity levels. Initially, the solar wind permeates the thin comet atmosphere formed from sublimation, until the size and plasma pressure of the ionized atmosphere define its boundaries: A magnetosphere is born. Using the Rosetta Plasma Consortium ion composition analyzer, we trace the evolution from the first detection of water ions to when the atmosphere begins repelling the solar wind (~3.3 astronomical units), and we report the spatial structure of this early interaction. The near-comet water population comprises accelerated ions (<800 electron volts), produced upstream of Rosetta, and lower energy locally produced ions; we estimate the fluxes of both ion species and energetic neutral atoms.

    Link to Publication

    Last Update: 23 January 2015

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    • See Also
    • Getting to know Rosetta's comet
    • Catching a comet: Science special edition

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