IBEX-Lo observations of energetic neutral hydrogen atoms originating from the lunar surface |
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| Authors: | DF Rodríguez M L Saul P Wurz SA Fuselier HO Funsten DJ McComas E Möbius |
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| Institution: | 1. Physics Institute, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, 3012 Bern, Switzerland;2. Space Physics Department, Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center, 3251 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA;3. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA;4. Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78228-0510, USA and University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA;5. Space Science Center and Department of Physics, University of New Hampshire, 39 College Road, Durham, NH 03824, USA |
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| Abstract: | In this paper we present quantitative results of observations of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) originating from the lunar surface. These ENAs, which are hydrogen atoms, are the result of the solar wind protons being reflected from and neutralised at the surface of the Moon. These measurements were made with IBEX-Lo on NASA's IBEX satellite. From these measurements we derive the energy spectrum of the ENAs, their flux, and the lunar albedo for ENAs (i.e., the ratio of ENAs to the incoming solar wind protons). The energy spectra of the ENAs clearly show that their origin is directly from the solar wind via backscattering, and that they are not sputtered atoms. From several observation periods we derived an average global albedo of AH=0.09±0.05. From the observed energy spectra we derive a generic spectrum for unshielded bodies in the solar wind. |
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