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Origin of fifteen cosmic dust particles intercepted by Pioneer 8 and 9

Nature volumeĀ 252,Ā pages 555ā€“556 (1974)Cite this article

A Corrigendum to this article was published on 03 April 1975

Abstract

Two identical cosmic dust particle experiments on board the heliocentric space probes Pioneer 8 and 9 have now yielded consistent data for more than 8 yr. The two spacecraft are in direct heliocentric orbits with perihelia between 0.75 AU and 1.00 AU and aphelia between 1.00 AU and 1.10 AU, respectively. Their orbital velocity is approximately 30 km sāˆ’1 and both satellites are spinning at 1 r.p.s. about an axis perpendicular to the ecliptic plane, and carry similar cosmic dust detectors scanning the ecliptic plane1ā€“4. The instrumentation, its calibration, and significant scientific results have been reported1ā€“3.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Greenbelt, Maryland, 20771

    JOHN W. RHEE,Ā OTTO E. BERG,Ā F. FRANK RICHARDSONĀ &Ā SIEGFRIED AUER

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  1. JOHN W. RHEE
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  2. OTTO E. BERG
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  3. F. FRANK RICHARDSON
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  4. SIEGFRIED AUER
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RHEE, J., BERG, O., RICHARDSON, F. et al. Origin of fifteen cosmic dust particles intercepted by Pioneer 8 and 9. Nature 252, 555ā€“556 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/252555a0

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