

Author: Gunell Herbert Goetz Charlotte Wedlund Cyril Simon Lindkvist Jesper Hamrin Maria Nilsson Hans Llera Kristie Eriksson Anders Holmström Mats
Publisher: Edp Sciences
E-ISSN: 1432-0746|619|issue|L2-L2
ISSN: 0004-6361
Source: Astronomy & Astrophysics, Vol.619, Iss.issue, 2018-11, pp. : L2-L2
Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.
Abstract
The bow shock is the first boundary the solar wind encounters as it approaches planets or comets. The Rosetta spacecraft was able to observe the formation of a bow shock by following comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko toward the Sun, through perihelion, and back outward again. The spacecraft crossed the newly formed bow shock several times during two periods a few months before and after perihelion; it observed an increase in magnetic field magnitude and oscillation amplitude, electron and proton heating at the shock, and the diminution of the solar wind further downstream. Rosetta observed a cometary bow shock in its infancy, a stage in its development not previously accessible to in situ measurements at comets and planets.
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