Earth's Bow Shock: Elapsed-Time Observations by Two Closely Spaced Satellites

Coordinated observations of the earth's bow shock were made as Vela 3A and Explorer 33 passed within 6 earth radii of each other. Elapsed time measurements of shock motion give directly determined velocities in the range 1 to 10 kilometers per second and establish the existence of two regions,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1968-11, Vol.162 (3856), p.898-901
Main Authors: Greenstadt, E. W., Green, I. M., Colburn, D. S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Artificial satellites
Kinetics
Magnetic fields
Shock waves
Solar transition region
Solar wind
Spacecraft
Sun
Vehicles
Wave velocity
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Summary:Coordinated observations of the earth's bow shock were made as Vela 3A and Explorer 33 passed within 6 earth radii of each other. Elapsed time measurements of shock motion give directly determined velocities in the range 1 to 10 kilometers per second and establish the existence of two regions, one of large amplitude magnetic "shock" oscillations and another of smaller, sunward, upstream oscillations. Each region is as thick as 1 earth radius, or more.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.162.3856.898