Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Frank, L A
• Paterson, W R
• Ackerson, K L
• Vasyliunas, V M
• Coroniti, F V
• Bolton, S J

Titel

Plasma observations at Io with the Galileo spacecraft

Ist Teil von

• Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science), 1996-10, Vol.274 (5286), p.394-395

Ort / Verlag

United States: American Association for the Advancement of Science

Erscheinungsjahr

1996

Quelle

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Plasma measurements made during the flyby of Io on 7 December 1995 with the Galileo spacecraft plasma analyzers reveal that the spacecraft unexpectedly passed directly through the ionosphere of Io. The ionosphere is identified by a dense plasma that is at rest with respect to Io. This plasma is cool relative to those encountered outside the ionosphere. The composition of the ionospheric plasmas includes O++, O+ and S++, S+, and SO2+ ions. The plasma conditions at Io appear to account for the decrease in the magnetic field, without the need to assume that Io has a magnetized interior.