Abstract
It is proposed that the cometary analog of a terrestrial aurora was responsible for the enhanced fluxes of suprathermal (keV) electrons and associated plasma waves observed in the cometosheath of Comet Halley during its VEGA 2 encounter. The non-detection of such suprathermal electron fluxes during the GIOTTO encounter is ascribed to the much quieter solar wind conditions at that time.
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Mendis, D.A. A cometary aurora. Earth Moon Planet 39, 17–20 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00054431
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00054431