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Interaction between comet Halley and the interplanetary magnetic field observed by Sakigake

  • Comet Halley
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Abstract

During 10–12 March 1986, the magnetometer carried by the Japanese spacecraft Sakigake detected clear multiple crossings of the nearly horizontal heliospheric neutral sheet. As there was no apparent disconnection event (DE) in comet Halley's ion tail during 11–14 March, an interplanetary magnetic field (IMF)–comet interaction model with a quasi-parallel neutral sheet is proposed to explain why a DE did not occur. Enhancements of hydromagnetic (HM) waves were observed near the time of closest approach to comet Halley. Neutral particles of cometary origin are proposed to yield, at ∼7 × 106 km upstream of the comet, the ionized O+ (or H2O+) particles which excite the HM waves.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Onagawa Magnetic Observatory and Geophysical Institute, Tohoku University, Sendai, 980, Japan

    Takao Saito, Kiyohumi Yumoto & Tomoko Nakagawa

  2. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Tokai University, Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, 259-12, Japan

    Kunio Hirao

  3. Nozawa 4-20-2, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 154, Japan

    Keiji Saito

Authors
  1. Takao Saito
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  2. Kiyohumi Yumoto
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  3. Kunio Hirao
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  4. Tomoko Nakagawa
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  5. Keiji Saito
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Saito, T., Yumoto, K., Hirao, K. et al. Interaction between comet Halley and the interplanetary magnetic field observed by Sakigake. Nature 321 (Suppl 6067), 303–307 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/321303a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/321303a0

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