Pioneer 10 Crosses the Asteroid Belt (Illustration)

Images

Monday, 04 December 2023

If spacecraft are to visit the outer Solar System, they must cross the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The Pioneer mission was faced with the question of just how dangerous this asteroid belt would be to a spacecraft passing through it.

Image Credit: NASA

Planetary Positions

21.11.2024 at 20:19:26 UTC

Planet	Longitude
The Sun	00 Sag 00' 58"
The Moon	16 Leo 15' 16"
Mercury	21 Sag 21' 40"
Venus	11 Cap 58' 02"
Mars	04 Leo 43' 31"
Jupiter	18 Gem 22' 26" R
Saturn	12 Pis 43' 37"
Uranus	25 Tau 02' 40" R
Neptune	27 Pis 12' 18" R
Pluto	00 Aqu 02' 12"

Solar Status

BZ Status:	-3
Proton Density:	7.19
Proton Speed:	396.5 k/sec
KP Status:	1.67

Type	Nov 21	Nov 22	Nov 23
Active	10%	25%	25%
Minor	5%	15%	15%
Moderate	1%	1%	1%
Strong	1%	1%	1%
Kp Index Prediction
00-03UT	1.67	2.00	2.33
03-06UT	1.33	1.67	1.67
06-09UT	1.33	2.33	2.00
09-12UT	1.33	1.00	2.33
12-15UT	1.33	1.33	2.33
15-18UT	1.33	1.67	2.33
18-21UT	1.67	3.00	2.33
21-00UT	1.67	3.00	2.33
Solar Activity
Solar activity reached moderate levels following a long-duration M1.1 flare at 20/1948 UTC from Region 3897 (S12W90, Dao/beta) as it transited the west limb. This region also produced the majority of the C-class flare activity during the period. Region 3898 (S16W27, Cao/beta) exhibited slight decay early in the period, but then had some redevelopment later and managed to produced a C3.5 flare at 20/0632 UTC. Region 3901 (S07E35, Dao/beta-gamma) added a pair of low-level C-class flares, but remained mostly unchanged. The remaining regions were quiescent. New Region 3902 (S17E70, Cso/beta) was numbered. While several CMEs were observed in SOHO/LASCO coronagraph imagery, none were deemed Earth-directed.
Solar Wind
Solar wind parameters reflected a weakly enhanced solar wind regime early, before transitioning to background levels the latter half of the period. Solar wind speeds ranged between 350 km/s - 400 km/s. Total field strength averaged near 10nT, reached a peak of 13 nT, then decreased to remain near 5-8 nT the last half of the period. The Bz component fluctuated between +9/-10 nT before turning mostly north, and the phi angle was predominantly in a positive orientation.
Energetic Particle
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux was normal to moderate and the greater than 10 MeV proton flux was at background levels.

Pioneer 10 Crosses the Asteroid Belt (Illustration)

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