Instrument Information |
|
IDENTIFIER | urn:esa:psa:context:instrument:uly.gas::1.0 |
NAME |
GAS INSTRUMENT |
TYPE |
PARTICLE DETECTOR |
DESCRIPTION |
Instrument Overview =================== (excerpted from [WITTEETAL1992]) Abstract. -- The properties (density, bulk velocity relative to the solar system, and temperature) of the local interstellar gas, represented by neutral helium penetrating the heliosphere, will be measured in-situ for the first time by the ULYSSES GAS instrument. By employing the solar gravitational field as a natural velocity analyser, the bulk velocity relative to the solar system and the temperature of the E as can be derived from the angular distributions of the particles measured in at least two widely separated points in the heliosphere. The gas density can be determined if a composition corresponding to cosmic abundances is assumed. The neutral particles are detected via the secondary electrons or ions which are emitted upon particle impact from a freshly deposited lithium-fluoride (LiF) layer. The physical principles and assumptions on which the experiment is based, the main technical features of the instrument, and first measurements in space are briefly described. |
MODEL IDENTIFIER | |
NAIF INSTRUMENT IDENTIFIER |
not applicable |
SERIAL NUMBER |
not applicable |
REFERENCES |
Witte, M., H. Rosenbauer, E. Keppler, H. Fahr, P. Hemmerich, H. Lauche, A.
Loidl, and R. Zwick. The Interstellar Neutral-Gas Experiment On Ulysses,
Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. Ser., 333, 1992. Witte, M., H. Rosenbauer, M. Banaszkiewics, and H. Fahr, The Ulysses Neutral Gas Experiment: determination of the velocity and temperature of the interstellar neutral Helium, Adv. Space Res., 13, (6)121, 1993. |