Solar Particle Tracks in Glass from the Surveyor 3 Spacecraft
1971; American Association for the Advancement of Science; Volume: 171; Issue: 3977 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1126/science.171.3977.1237
ISSN1095-9203
Autores Tópico(s)Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics
ResumoA glass filter from Surveyor 3 has a surface density of approximately 1 x 10(6) tracks per square centimeter from heavy solar flare particles. The variation with depth is best fitted with a solar particle spectrum dN/dE = 2.42 x 10(6) E(-2) [in particles per square centimeter per year per steradian per (million electron volts per nucleon)], where E is the energy and N is the number of particles, from 2 million electron volts per nucleon to approximately 7 million electron volts per nucleon and dN/dE = 1.17 x 10(7) E(-3) at higher energies. Not much difference is observed between 0.5 and 5 micrometers, an indication that there is a lack of track-registering particles below 0.5 million electron volts per nucleon. The Surveyor data are compatible with track results in lunar rocks, provided an erosion rate of approximately 10(-7) centimeter per year is assumed for the latter. The results also suggest a small-scale erosion process in lunar rocks.
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