Laboratory for Extraterrestrial Physics/692 - A new stream of interstellar gas
M. R. Collier and T. E. Moore
Owing to photoionization and charge transfer, little or no interstellar hydrogen makes it into the inner solar system.
IMAGE/LENA observes the “helium focusing cone” in the downstream region of the solar system.
Surprisingly, the LENA flux peak is shifted from the established direction by ~30 degrees.
We interpret the LENA data as evidence of a new stream of interstellar gas.
The presence of such a stream is being tested and confirmed by other data sets, each the subject of one or more papers:
- Neutral solar wind flux (IMAGE) [Collier et al. 2001]
- Cyclotron waves (ISEE, Wind) [Collier et al., 2002]
- He+ pickup ion observations (ACE)
- X-rays from solar wind interactions (ROSAT)
[Collier et al., Adv. Space Res., in press, 2003].