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Reasoner 1975
Reasoner, D.L. (1975). Observations of low-energy electrons upstream of the earth’s bow shock. Journal of Geophysical Research 80: doi: 10.1029/JA080i001p00187. issn: 0148-0227.

Observations of electron fluxes with a lunar-based electron spectrometer when the moon was upstream of the earth have shown that a subset of observed fluxes are strongly controlled by the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) direction. The fluxes occur only when the IMF lines connect back to the earth's bow shock. Observed densities and temperatures were in the ranges 2-4¿10-3 cm-3 and 1.7-2.8¿106¿K. It is shown that these electrons can account for increases in effective solar wind electron temperatures on bow shock connected field lines, which have been observed previously by other investigators. It is further shown that if a model of the bow shock with an electrostatic potential barrier is assumed, the potential can be estimated to be 500 V.

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Journal of Geophysical Research
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