Contributions of solar wind and micrometeoroids to molecular hydrogen in the lunar exosphere

详细信息    查看全文

• 作者：Dana M. Hurley^a ; ^{dana.hurley@jhuapl.edu} ; Jason C. Cook^b ; Kurt D. Retherford^c ; Thomas Greathouse^c ; G. Randall Gladstone^c ; Kathleen Mandt^c ; Cesare Grava^c ; David Kaufmann^b ; Amanda Hendrix^d ; Paul D. Feldman^e ; Wayne Pryor^f ; Angela Stickle^a ; Rosemary M. Killen^g ; S. Alan Stern^b
• 关键词：Moon Atmospheres ; Dynamics Solar wind Impact processes
• 刊名：Icarus
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：February 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：283
• 期：Complete
• 页码：31-37
• 全文大小：513 K
• 卷排序：283

文摘

Modeling of different initial spatial profile and velocity distribution shows how physical processes affect exospheric distribution. We have detailed that the inventory from infalling micrometeoroids is not the prime contributor to H2 in the lunar exosphere. The solar wind is a sufficient source of hydrogen that can supply the observed H2 exosphere by chemical sputtering of implant solar wind H. To produce H2 density of 1200 cm−3, 10% of the solar wind would need to be converted to H2.