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Detection of Interstellar Pick-Up Hydrogen in the Solar System
Balsiger, H.; Geiss, J.; Galvin, A. B. +6 more
Interstellar hydrogen ionized primarily by the solar wind has been detected by the SWICS instrument on the Ulysses spacecraft at a distance of 4.8 astronomical units from the sun. This "pick-up" hydrogen is identified by its distinct velocity distribution function, which drops abruptly at twice the local solar wind speed. From the measured fluxes …
Deceleration of Interstellar Hydrogen at the Heliospheric Interface
Bertaux, Jean-Loup; Clarke, John T.; Lallement, Rosine
High-resolution spectra of nearby stars show absorption lines due to material in the local interstellar cloud. This cloud is deduced to be moving at 26 kilometers per second with respect to the sun, and in the same direction as the "interstellar wind" flowing through the solar system. Measurements by the Ulysses spacecraft show that neutral helium…