Highlights The direction of the magnetotail plasma flow at lunar orbital locations can change significantly over a few minutes. Flux ropes sweeping over the Moon can significantly modify the ambient plasma conditions.
Abstract The Moon spends 20% of its orbit within the terrestrial magnetosphere. During this time it experiences a dynamic plasma environment, including high-speed streams, flux ropes and a flux of heavy ions from ionospheric outflows. 3D multi-fluid simulations of the Moon within the magnetosphere during a substorm shows that a highly variable plasma flow can develop in the vicinity of the Moon due to the passage of a flux rope. The transit of a flux rope past the Moon potentially leads to a plasma wake that is mis-aligned from the optical wake by nearly . This will have implications when determining the range of space weathering and surface charging the lunar surface experiences.
Flux rope passage at the Moon while in the terrestrial magnetotail
Advances in Space Research ; 52 , 2 ; 243-250
2013-01-01
8 pages
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
Flux rope passage at the Moon while in the terrestrial magnetotail
Online Contents | 2013
|Structure of the distant terrestrial magnetotail
Elsevier | 1986
|Substorm topology in the ionosphere and magnetosphere during a flux rope event in the magnetotail
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2006
|Bursts of Fast Magnetotail Flux Transport
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2002
|