HR: 0800h
AN: SH12A-0860    [Abstracts]
TI: Lunar Surface Charging During Solar Energetic Particle Events
AU: * Halekas, J S
EM: jazzman@ssl.berkeley.edu
AF: Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
AU: Delory, G T
EM: gdelory@ssl.berkeley.edu
AF: Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
AU: Brain, D A
EM: brain@ssl.berkeley.edu
AF: Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
AU: Lin, R P
EM: rlin@ssl.berkeley.edu
AF: Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
AU: Fillingim, M O
EM: matt@ssl.berkeley.edu
AF: Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
AU: Lee, C O
EM: clee@ssl.berkeley.edu
AF: Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
AU: Mewaldt, R A
EM: rmewaldt@srl.caltech.edu
AF: Space Radiation Lab, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, United States
AU: Stubbs, T J
EM: Timothy.J.Stubbs@nasa.gov
AF: NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
AU: Farrell, W M
EM: william.farrell@gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
AU: Hudson, M K
EM: Mary.K.Hudson@Dartmouth.edu
AF: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, United States
AB: We have previously shown, using Lunar Prospector data, that the nightside lunar surface can reach potentials as large as several kilovolts negative during SEP events. These large surface charging events may have significant effects on the lunar surface and exospheric environment (including dust), and therefore have intriguing implications from both a pure science and an exploration perspective. We now build on this initial result to further investigate the response of the lunar surface to SEP events. We present the results of investigations into two aspects of this response: 1. How does the response of the lunar surface to different SEP events vary, and what features of specific SEP events make them more efficient at charging the surface to large potentials? 2. How does the lunar surface response vary as a function of solar zenith angle, and can we explain this response in terms of the expected charged particle access to the surface? By answering these questions, we can make significant steps towards understanding the complex coupled system formed by the interactions of the lunar surface, lunar exosphere, and solar plasma.
DE: 5421 Interactions with particles and fields
DE: 6250 Moon (1221)
DE: 7513 Coronal mass ejections (2101)
DE: 7514 Energetic particles (2114)
DE: 7815 Electrostatic structures
SC: SPA-Solar and Heliospheric Physics [SH]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting