Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Emission Spectroscopic Boundary Layer Investigation during Ablative Material Testing in Plasmatron
Published on: June 9, 2016
Width and variation of the ENA flux ribbon observed by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer
S A Fuselier1, F Allegrini, H O Funsten
1Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA. stephen.a.fuselier@lmco.com
Abstract:
The dominant feature in Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) sky maps of heliospheric energetic neutral atom (ENA) flux is a ribbon of enhanced flux that extends over a broad range of ecliptic latitudes and longitudes. It is narrow (approximately 20 degrees average width) but long (extending over 300 degrees in the sky) and is observed at energies from 0.2 to 6 kilo-electron volts. We demonstrate that the flux in the ribbon is a factor of 2 to 3 times higher than that of the more diffuse, globally distributed heliospheric ENA flux. The ribbon is most pronounced at approximately 1 kilo-electron volt. The average width of the ribbon is nearly constant, independent of energy. The ribbon is likely the result of an enhancement in the combined solar wind and pickup ion populations in the heliosheath.
Related Concept Videos
Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Interference
Magnetic Field Lines
Magnetic field lines follow several hard-and-fast rules:
General External Flow Characteristics
Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Instrumentation
Magnetostatic Boundary Conditions
Magnetic Flux
Suppose a surface is divided into elements of area dA. For each element, the component of the magnetic field that is normal to the...

