Diverse Dust Populations in the Near-Sun Environment Characterized by PSP/ISʘIS

The Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun energetic particle instrument suite on the Parker Solar Probe is dedicated to measuring energetic ions and electrons in the near-Sun environment. It includes a half-sky-viewing time-of-flight mass spectrometer (EPI-Lo) and five high-energy silicon soli...

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Main Authors: M. M. Shen, J. R. Szalay, P. Pokorný, J. G. Mitchell, M. E. Hill, D. G. Mitchell, D. J. McComas, E. R. Christian, C. M. S. Cohen, N. A. Schwadron, S. D. Bale, D. M. Malaspina
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc258
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author M. M. Shen
J. R. Szalay
P. Pokorný
J. G. Mitchell
M. E. Hill
D. G. Mitchell
D. J. McComas
E. R. Christian
C. M. S. Cohen
N. A. Schwadron
S. D. Bale
D. M. Malaspina
author_facet M. M. Shen
J. R. Szalay
P. Pokorný
J. G. Mitchell
M. E. Hill
D. G. Mitchell
D. J. McComas
E. R. Christian
C. M. S. Cohen
N. A. Schwadron
S. D. Bale
D. M. Malaspina
author_sort M. M. Shen
collection DOAJ
description The Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun energetic particle instrument suite on the Parker Solar Probe is dedicated to measuring energetic ions and electrons in the near-Sun environment. It includes a half-sky-viewing time-of-flight mass spectrometer (EPI-Lo) and five high-energy silicon solid-state detector-telescopes (EPI-Hi). To 2024 August, eight of EPI-Lo’s eighty separate telescope foils have experienced direct dust puncture events, most of which occurred inside 40 solar radii (0.19 au). These impacts represent the closest high-fidelity dust detections to the Sun. While there is limited information about the size/mass of each impact due to the lack of a dedicated dust instrument, we can determine the impact direction for six punctures, allowing us to partially constrain abundant dust populations in the inner zodiacal cloud. Remarkably, one of six unambiguous dust impactors was likely on a retrograde orbit, suggesting long-period cometary material may survive within 20 solar radii (0.09 au). We discuss observations in the context of highlighting multiple dust populations responsible for these events to improve our understanding of the zodiacal dust environment in the inner heliosphere ( $\lesssim $ 1 au).
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spelling doaj-art-6f195e9c1a3a4a2e8ee5d0d6ff8c38802025-08-20T03:09:24ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01984216510.3847/1538-4357/adc258Diverse Dust Populations in the Near-Sun Environment Characterized by PSP/ISʘISM. M. Shen0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-458XJ. R. Szalay1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2685-9801P. Pokorný2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5667-9337J. G. Mitchell3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4501-5452M. E. Hill4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5674-4936D. G. Mitchell5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1960-2119D. J. McComas6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6160-1158E. R. Christian7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2134-3937C. M. S. Cohen8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0978-8127N. A. Schwadron9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3737-9283S. D. Bale10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1989-3596D. M. Malaspina11https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1191-1558Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , Princeton, NJ 08544, USADepartment of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , Princeton, NJ 08544, USAAstrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center , Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA; Department of Physics, The Catholic University of America , Washington, DC 20064, USAHeliospheric Science Division, NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center , Greenbelt, MD 20771, USAJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USAJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USADepartment of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , Princeton, NJ 08544, USAGoddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, MD 20771, USACalifornia Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91125, USAUniversity of New Hampshire , Durham, NH 03824, USASpace Sciences Laboratory, University of California , Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Physics Department, University of California , Berkeley, CA 94720, USALaboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado , Boulder, CO 80303, USA; Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences Department, University of Colorado , Boulder, CO 80309, USAThe Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun energetic particle instrument suite on the Parker Solar Probe is dedicated to measuring energetic ions and electrons in the near-Sun environment. It includes a half-sky-viewing time-of-flight mass spectrometer (EPI-Lo) and five high-energy silicon solid-state detector-telescopes (EPI-Hi). To 2024 August, eight of EPI-Lo’s eighty separate telescope foils have experienced direct dust puncture events, most of which occurred inside 40 solar radii (0.19 au). These impacts represent the closest high-fidelity dust detections to the Sun. While there is limited information about the size/mass of each impact due to the lack of a dedicated dust instrument, we can determine the impact direction for six punctures, allowing us to partially constrain abundant dust populations in the inner zodiacal cloud. Remarkably, one of six unambiguous dust impactors was likely on a retrograde orbit, suggesting long-period cometary material may survive within 20 solar radii (0.09 au). We discuss observations in the context of highlighting multiple dust populations responsible for these events to improve our understanding of the zodiacal dust environment in the inner heliosphere ( $\lesssim $ 1 au).https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc258Interplanetary dustMeteoroidsZodiacal cloud
spellingShingle M. M. Shen
J. R. Szalay
P. Pokorný
J. G. Mitchell
M. E. Hill
D. G. Mitchell
D. J. McComas
E. R. Christian
C. M. S. Cohen
N. A. Schwadron
S. D. Bale
D. M. Malaspina
Diverse Dust Populations in the Near-Sun Environment Characterized by PSP/ISʘIS
The Astrophysical Journal
Interplanetary dust
Meteoroids
Zodiacal cloud
title Diverse Dust Populations in the Near-Sun Environment Characterized by PSP/ISʘIS
title_full Diverse Dust Populations in the Near-Sun Environment Characterized by PSP/ISʘIS
title_fullStr Diverse Dust Populations in the Near-Sun Environment Characterized by PSP/ISʘIS
title_full_unstemmed Diverse Dust Populations in the Near-Sun Environment Characterized by PSP/ISʘIS
title_short Diverse Dust Populations in the Near-Sun Environment Characterized by PSP/ISʘIS
title_sort diverse dust populations in the near sun environment characterized by psp isʘis
topic Interplanetary dust
Meteoroids
Zodiacal cloud
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc258
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