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Reflection of solar wind protons from magnetic anomalies of the moon

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Abstract

A mechanism of the reflection of solar wind protons is suggested based on the model of a minimagnetosphere arising above an anomalous magnetization region of the lunar surface with the formation of a detached quasi-shock wave. Using as an example one event of the detection of protons reflected from the lunar surface by the Chandrayaan spacecraft during its flight over the region of anomalous magnetization in Mare Imbrium together with simultaneous observations of the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field by the WIND spacecraft, it is demonstrated that the observed fluxes of reflected particles are consistent with the suggested model.

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Correspondence to A. M. Sadovski.

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Original Russian Text © A.A. Skalsky, A.M. Sadovski, 2015, published in Kosmicheskie Issledovaniya, 2015, Vol. 53, No. 1, pp. 75–78.

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Skalsky, A.A., Sadovski, A.M. Reflection of solar wind protons from magnetic anomalies of the moon. Cosmic Res 53, 70–73 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0010952515010062

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0010952515010062

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