Abstract
The Giotto magnetometer experiment at comet Halley has for the first time provided magnetic field measurements in all the important spatial regions characterizing the front-side interaction between the solar-wind magnetoplasma and a cometary atmosphere. Upstream waves of cometary origin have been observed at distances of >2×106 km from the comet, both inbound and outbound. A cometary bow shock has been identified at 1.15×106 km inbound on the dawn side and a thick quasi-parallel cometary bow shock outbound. A turbulent magnetosheath has been observed further inside. A magnetic pile-up region has been identified inside 1.35×105 km, inbound, and 2.63×105 km, outbound, with fields up to 57 and 65 nT, respectively. A cavity region with essentially zero magnetic field has been discovered, with a width of 8,500 km along the trajectory around closest approach.
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Neubauer, F., Glassmeier, K., Pohl, M. et al. First results from the Giotto magnetometer experiment at comet Halley. Nature 321 (Suppl 6067), 352–355 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/321352a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/321352a0
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