1. Solar Orbiter's first Venus flyby: Observations from the Radio and Plasma Wave instrument
- Author
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L. Z. Hadid, N. J. T. Edberg, T. Chust, D. Píša, A. P. Dimmock, M. W. Morooka, M. Maksimovic, Yu. V. Khotyaintsev, J. Souček, M. Kretzschmar, A. Vecchio, O. Le Contel, A. Retino, R. C. Allen, M. Volwerk, C. M. Fowler, L. Sorriso-Valvo, T. Karlsson, O. Santolík, I. Kolmašová, F. Sahraoui, K. Stergiopoulou, X. Moussas, K. Issautier, R. M. Dewey, M. Klein Wolt, O. E. Malandraki, E. P. Kontar, G. G. Howes, S. D. Bale, T. S. Horbury, M. Martinović, A. Vaivads, V. Krasnoselskikh, E. Lorfèvre, D. Plettemeier, M. Steller, Š. Štverák, P. Trávníček, H. O’Brien, V. Evans, V. Angelini, M. C. Velli, I. Zouganelis, Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas (LPP), Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-École polytechnique (X)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Swedish Institute of Space Physics [Uppsala] (IRF), Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA (UMR_8109)), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Paris (UP), Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory [Laurel, MD] (APL), Space Research Institute of Austrian Academy of Sciences (IWF), Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW), Space Sciences Laboratory [Berkeley] (SSL), University of California [Berkeley], University of California-University of California, Department of Astrophysics, Astronomy and Mechanics [Kapodistrian Univ], National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering (CLaSP), University of Michigan [Ann Arbor], University of Michigan System-University of Michigan System, Radboud university [Nijmegen], National Observatory of Athens (NOA), SUPA School of Physics and Astronomy [Glasgow], University of Glasgow, Department of Physics and Astronomy [Ames, Iowa], Iowa State University (ISU), Department of Physics [Imperial College London], Imperial College London, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory [Tucson] (LPL), University of Arizona, Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES), Technische Universität Dresden = Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden), Institut für Weltraumforschung [Graz] (IWF), Osterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften (ÖAW), Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (ASU / CAS), Czech Academy of Sciences [Prague] (CAS), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), European Space Agency (ESA), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Observatoire de Paris, and Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES)
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Physics ,polarization ,biology ,Waves in plasmas ,Astronomy ,Astronomy and Astrophysics ,Venus ,Astrophysics ,biology.organism_classification ,plasmas ,Fusion, Plasma and Space Physics ,7. Clean energy ,law.invention ,Fusion, plasma och rymdfysik ,Orbiter ,Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi ,13. Climate action ,Space and Planetary Science ,law ,Physics::Space Physics ,Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology ,waves ,Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics ,[PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph] - Abstract
Context.On December 27, 2020, Solar Orbiter completed its first gravity assist manoeuvre of Venus (VGAM1). While this flyby was performed to provide the spacecraft with sufficient velocity to get closer to the Sun and observe its poles from progressively higher inclinations, the Radio and Plasma Wave (RPW) consortium, along with other operational in situ instruments, had the opportunity to perform high cadence measurements and study the plasma properties in the induced magnetosphere of Venus.Aims.In this paper, we review the main observations of the RPW instrument during VGAM1. They include the identification of a number of magnetospheric plasma wave modes, measurements of the electron number densities computed using the quasi-thermal noise spectroscopy technique and inferred from the probe-to-spacecraft potential, the observation of dust impact signatures, kinetic solitary structures, and localized structures at the bow shock, in addition to the validation of the wave normal analysis on-board from the Low Frequency Receiver.Methods.We used the data products provided by the different subsystems of RPW to study Venus’ induced magnetosphere.Results.The results include the observations of various electromagnetic and electrostatic wave modes in the induced magnetosphere of Venus: strong emissions of ∼100 Hz whistler waves are observed in addition to electrostatic ion acoustic waves, solitary structures and Langmuir waves in the magnetosheath of Venus. Moreover, based on the different levels of the wave amplitudes and the large-scale variations of the electron number densities, we could identify different regions and boundary layers at Venus.Conclusions.The RPW instrument provided unprecedented AC magnetic and electric field measurements in Venus’ induced magnetosphere for continuous frequency ranges and with high time resolution. These data allow for the conclusive identification of various plasma waves at higher frequencies than previously observed and a detailed investigation regarding the structure of the induced magnetosphere of Venus. Furthermore, noting that prior studies were mainly focused on the magnetosheath region and could only reach 10–12 Venus radii (RV) down the tail, the particular orbit geometry of Solar Orbiter’s VGAM1, allowed the first investigation of the nature of the plasma waves continuously from the bow shock to the magnetosheath, extending to ∼70RVin the far distant tail region.
- Published
- 2021
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