HR: 0800h
AN: SH51A-1186    [Abstracts]
TI: Voyager 2 Plasma Observations
AU: * Richardson, J D
EM: jdr@space.mit.edu
AF: Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT 37-655, Cambridge, MA 02139 United States
AU: Wang, C
EM: cw@space.mit.edu
AF: Center for Space Science and Applied Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O.Box 8701, Beijing, 100080 China
AB: Voyager 1 crossed the termination shock in December 2004 but started seeing shock precursors several years before the actual shock crossing. Voyager 2 has started observing shock precursors; since the plasma instrument of Voyager 2 is working we have an opportunity to study the relation of the precursors to solar wind changes. We report on these relations. Voyager 2 still serves as our best monitor of the solar wind material (now altered by the shock) reaching Voyager 1. We discuss the the expected shock motion and possible links between Voyager 1 data and solar wind events observed at Voyager 2. Finally, Ulysses and Voyager 2 are now at similar heliolatitudes and we can start to make predictions for the expected speed at Voyager 2 when the solar wind now observed at Ulysses arrives at Voyager 1. The slowdown observed should give a good estimate of the interstellar H density at the termination shock.
DE: 2124 Heliopause and solar wind termination
DE: 2126 Heliosphere/interstellar medium interactions
DE: 2139 Interplanetary shocks
DE: 2144 Interstellar gas
DE: 2164 Solar wind plasma
SC: SPA-Solar and Heliospheric Physics [SH]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005