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The Global Interaction of Comets with the Solar Wind

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

K. R. Flammer
K. R. Flammer*
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of California, San Diego La Jolla, CA 92093, USA

Abstract

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The global interaction of the solar wind with a comet as it orbits the Sun is reviewed. After a brief survey of the flow transition regions observed at comet Halley is presented, theoretical models are given for the cometocentric distance of the bow shock, the cometopause, and the ionopause. In addition, predictions are made as to what heliocentric distance these boundaries should form at. The results of these models are compared with the in situ observations at comet Halley.

Information

Type
Section VII: Plasmas and Fields
Information
International Astronomical Union Colloquium , Volume 116 , Issue 2: Comets in the Post-Halley Era , 1991 , pp. 1125 - 1144
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer 1991

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