Three years of Galileo dust data. II. 1993-1995

• Between January 1993 - December 1995, the Galileo spacecraft traversed the interplanetary space between Earth and Jupiter and arrived at Jupiter on 7 December 1995. The dust instrument onboard the spacecraft was operating during most of the time and data from the instrument were obtained via memory readouts which occurred at rates between twice per day and once per week. All events were classified by an onboard program into 24 categories. Noise events were usually restricted to the lowest categories (class 0). During Galileo's passage through Jupiter's radiation belts on 7 December 1995, several of the higher categories (classes 1 and 2) also show evidence for contamination by noise. The highest categories (class 3) were noise-free all the time. A relatively constant impact rate of interplanetary and interstellar (big) particles of 0.4 impacts per day was detected over the whole three-year time span. In the outer solar system (outside about 2.6 AU) they are mostly of interstellar origin, whereas in the inner solar system they are mostly interplanetary particles. Within about 1.7 AU from Jupiter intense streams of small dust particles were detected with impact rates of up to 20,000 per day whose impact directions are compatible with a Jovian origin. Two different populations of dust particles were detected in the Jovian magnetosphere: small stream particles during Galileo's approach to the planet and big particles concentrated closer to Jupiter between the Galilean satellites. Information about 2883 particles detected by the dust instrument during Galileo's six-year journey to Jupiter is now available.

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NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology (hsv//eng)

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