Comprehensive characterization of solar wind interaction with lunar crustal magnetic fields: Kaguya low-altitude observations

Comprehensive characterization of solar wind interaction with lunar crustal magnetic fields: Kaguya low-altitude observations | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Comprehensive characterization of solar wind interaction with lunar crustal magnetic fields: Kaguya low-altitude observations Kohei Ogino, Yuki Harada, Masaki N Nishino, Yoshifumi Saito, Shoichiro Yokota, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5057731/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Dec, 2024 Read the published version in Earth, Planets and Space → Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Although the Moon does not have a global intrinsic magnetic field, lunar crustal magnetic anomalies (LMAs) are nonuniformly distributed over the lunar surface. The interaction between the solar wind and LMAs leads to the formation of mini-magnetospheres. Since the spatial scales of LMAs are very small, below several tens of kilometers, solar wind ions are demagnetized while electrons are still magnetized, forming Hall electric fields typically at low altitudes (~30 km). Since direct observations of these interaction regions are challenging from typical nominal altitudes of lunar orbiters (~100 km), the solar wind-LMA interaction has not been fully understood. In this study, we analyze low-altitude data obtained by Kaguya over various LMAs to comprehensively characterize the plasma environment and electromagnetic fields in the solar wind-LMA interaction region. We observe strong solar wind ion reflection and whistler mode waves at 1–10 Hz under high solar wind dynamic pressure and strong interplanetary magnetic field conditions, respectively. These trends are particularly clear over spatially extended LMAs. Over both spatially isolated and extended LMAs, strong Broadband Electrostatic Noise at 1–10 kHz tends to be observed when the spacecraft is magnetically connected to the lunar surface. In addition, our results suggest that anti-moonward electrostatic fields at low altitudes contribute to the acceleration, deceleration, and reflection of incident solar wind particles, and the resulting modification of particle velocity distribution functions can strongly influence the nature of the solar wind-LMA interaction including plasma wave excitation. Based on Kaguya data, we also develop a predictable indicator of the central interaction region where solar wind ions and electrons are decoupled. We propose that this indicator can be utilized to define regions of interest for future low-altitude or lander missions to LMA. Moon plasma crustal magnetic field Kaguya (SELENE) Full Text Supplementary Files GraphicalAbstract.png Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Dec, 2024 Read the published version in Earth, Planets and Space → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Accept 11 Dec, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Dec, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 05 Dec, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 04 Dec, 2024 First submitted to journal 03 Dec, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5057731","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":386877352,"identity":"375c2c7a-b7ac-4f28-bbc8-5b46331b2f54","order_by":0,"name":"Kohei 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