Limits on the Density of the Lunar Ionosphere: ARTEMIS Observations
The Moon of our Earth has a tenuous atmosphere, known as an exosphere. The ionization of this exosphere is speculated to possibly form a weak ionosphere. Some radio occultation (RO) experiments have suggested the presence of a dense ionosphere with an electron density on the order of hundreds of cm...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad054b |
| _version_ | 1797522288840540160 |
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| author | Han-Wen Shen Jasper S. Halekas Andrew R. Poppe |
| author_facet | Han-Wen Shen Jasper S. Halekas Andrew R. Poppe |
| author_sort | Han-Wen Shen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Moon of our Earth has a tenuous atmosphere, known as an exosphere. The ionization of this exosphere is speculated to possibly form a weak ionosphere. Some radio occultation (RO) experiments have suggested the presence of a dense ionosphere with an electron density on the order of hundreds of cm ^−3 near the surface. Using in situ measurements from the ARTEMIS mission during 2012–2021, we conduct statistical analyses and case studies to investigate the plasma density at near-surface altitudes. ARTEMIS measurements reveal no plasma densities at altitudes between 10 and 50 km that exceed 35 cm ^−3 , and therefore they provide no evidence for a steady-state or global lunar ionosphere at the level suggested by some RO observations. Density profiles with local time and altitude show higher density in the sunlit sector than in the shadowed sector. These observations suggest that the natural variation of solar wind plasma flux with solar zenith angle plays a critical role in controlling the plasma population near the surface. This research provides a reference for a comparison with RO observations and a statistical view of the low-altitude plasma environment near the lunar surface. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:27:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-53c859a648dd4f22a9b1984011d3b2c1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:27:16Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-53c859a648dd4f22a9b1984011d3b2c12023-11-22T09:22:26ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572023-01-01958216510.3847/1538-4357/ad054bLimits on the Density of the Lunar Ionosphere: ARTEMIS ObservationsHan-Wen Shen0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6733-5065Jasper S. Halekas1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5258-6128Andrew R. Poppe2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8137-8176Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa , Iowa City, IA, USA ; han-wen-shen@uiowa.eduDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa , Iowa City, IA, USA ; han-wen-shen@uiowa.eduSpace Sciences Laboratory, University of California at Berkeley , Berkeley, CA, USAThe Moon of our Earth has a tenuous atmosphere, known as an exosphere. The ionization of this exosphere is speculated to possibly form a weak ionosphere. Some radio occultation (RO) experiments have suggested the presence of a dense ionosphere with an electron density on the order of hundreds of cm ^−3 near the surface. Using in situ measurements from the ARTEMIS mission during 2012–2021, we conduct statistical analyses and case studies to investigate the plasma density at near-surface altitudes. ARTEMIS measurements reveal no plasma densities at altitudes between 10 and 50 km that exceed 35 cm ^−3 , and therefore they provide no evidence for a steady-state or global lunar ionosphere at the level suggested by some RO observations. Density profiles with local time and altitude show higher density in the sunlit sector than in the shadowed sector. These observations suggest that the natural variation of solar wind plasma flux with solar zenith angle plays a critical role in controlling the plasma population near the surface. This research provides a reference for a comparison with RO observations and a statistical view of the low-altitude plasma environment near the lunar surface.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad054bThe MoonLunar scienceSolar windSpace plasmas |
| spellingShingle | Han-Wen Shen Jasper S. Halekas Andrew R. Poppe Limits on the Density of the Lunar Ionosphere: ARTEMIS Observations The Astrophysical Journal The Moon Lunar science Solar wind Space plasmas |
| title | Limits on the Density of the Lunar Ionosphere: ARTEMIS Observations |
| title_full | Limits on the Density of the Lunar Ionosphere: ARTEMIS Observations |
| title_fullStr | Limits on the Density of the Lunar Ionosphere: ARTEMIS Observations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Limits on the Density of the Lunar Ionosphere: ARTEMIS Observations |
| title_short | Limits on the Density of the Lunar Ionosphere: ARTEMIS Observations |
| title_sort | limits on the density of the lunar ionosphere artemis observations |
| topic | The Moon Lunar science Solar wind Space plasmas |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad054b |
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