Abstract
The high-frequency plasma-wave analyser (APV-V) carried by the spacecraft Vega 1 and Vega 2 measured electric fields at frequencies up to 300 kHz and characteristic parameters of the ambient plasma during the encounters with comet Halley. The data collected on Vega 1 and Vega 2 are quite similar. Electric field activity at frequencies of ∼100 Hz was already significant at a distance of ∼2.5×l06 km from the nucleus. The field displayed strong fluctuations; its average amplitude and bandwidth increased drastically during the approach, and for distances less than 1.2×105 km a maximum was observed at 200–400 Hz. The plasma density, measured with Langmuir probes, was ∼104 cm−3 at closest approach.
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References
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Grard, R., Pedersen, A., Trotignon, JG. et al. Observations of waves and plasma in the environment of comet Halley. Nature 321 (Suppl 6067), 290–291 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/321290a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/321290a0
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