Mini-magnetospheres above the lunar surface and the formation of lunar swirls
arXiv:1207.2076 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.081101
Abstract
In this paper we present in-situ satellite data, theory and laboratory validation that show how small scale collisionless shocks and mini-magnetospheres can form on the electron inertial scale length. The resulting retardation and deflection of the solar wind ions could be responsible for the unusual "lunar swirl" patterns seen on the surface of the Moon.
5 pages, 5 figures
References in corpus (3)
- Extremely high reflection of solar wind protons as neutral hydrogen atoms from regolith in space
- First observation of a mini-magnetosphere above a lunar magnetic anomaly using energetic neutral atoms
- Protons in the near-lunar wake observed by the Sub-keV Atom Reflection Analyzer on board Chandrayaan-1
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- Laser-Driven, Ion-Scale Magnetospheres in Laboratory Plasmas. I. Experimental Platform and First Results
- Formation of collisionless shocks in magnetized plasma interaction with kinetic-scale obstacles
- Laser-Driven, Ion-Scale Magnetospheres in Laboratory Plasmas. II. Particle-in-cell Simulations
- Laboratory study of magnetic reconnection in lunar-relevant mini-magnetospheres