Dusty plasma in the region of the lunar terminator |
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Authors: | S. I. Popel L. M. Zelenyi B. Atamaniuk |
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Affiliation: | 1.Space Research Institute,Russian Academy of Sciences,Moscow,Russia;2.Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology,Dolgoprudnyi,Russia;3.Space Research Center,Polish Academy of Sciences,Warsaw,Poland |
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Abstract: | Dusty plasma in the region of the lunar terminator is considered. It is shown that, in this region, a structure resembling a plasma sheath forms near the lunar surface. This sheath creates a potential barrier, due to which electrons over the illuminated part of the Moon are confined by electrostatic forces. The width of the sheath-like structure is on the order of the ion Debye length. In this structure, significant (about several hundred V/m) electric fields arise, which lift charged micron-size dust grains to heights of several tens of centimeters. The suggested effect may be used to explain the glow observed by the Surveyor spacecraft over the lunar terminator. |
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