New Rings for Jupiter

小行星9322488 最近发现的苏梅克-列维彗星的碎片预计将于1994年7月25日返回木星。 在大约一周的旅程中，当苏梅克-利维彗星穿过木星的磁层时，它将在原地产生比主木星环的总质量（5 x 1010 g）更多的尘埃。 尘埃颗粒一旦暴露在等离子体环境中，将收集静电荷并与磁层的磁场和电场相互作用。 这些颗粒将根据它们在等离子体环境中的尺寸和位置而分散或集中。 对该奖项的研究将允许对大量测试粒子的轨迹进行扩展的计算机模拟，以解释所有相关的相互作用。 这个测试粒子代码已经由PI开发，并已成功应用于其他行星周围的带电尘埃动力学，以及地球的磁层。 这些相同的程序将用于苏梅克-利维彗星进入木星磁层的情况。 很有可能，由于这次彗星撞击，新的尘埃环可能会在木星周围形成。

9322488 Horanyi The fragments of the recently discovered Comet Shoemaker-Levy are expected to return to Jupiter on July 25, 1994. During the approximately 1 week long trip, as Comet Shoemaker-Levy crosses Jupiter's magnetosphere, it will produce more dust in situ than the total mass of the main jovian ring ( 5 x 1010 g). Dust grains, once exposed to the plasma environment, will collect electrostatic charges and interact with the magnetic and electric fields of the magnetosphere. These grains will be dispersed or focused depending on their size and location in the plasma environment. Research on this award will allow extended computer simulations of the trajectories of a large number of test particles accounting for all the relevant interactions. This test particle code has been developed by the PI and has been successfully applied to charged dust dynamics around other planets, and also in the Earth's magnetosphere. These same routines will be used for the case of Comet Shoemaker-Levy entering Jupiter's magnetosphere. It is quite possible that new dust rings may be formed around Jupiter as a result of this comet impact.