Indirect solar wind measurements using archival cometary tail observations

TL;DR

This study uses historical comet observations to infer past solar wind behavior, focusing on tail characteristics to distinguish dust and plasma tails and identify plasma tail occurrences during the Maunder Minimum.

Contribution

It introduces a method to analyze archival comet descriptions for solar wind insights, highlighting the first plasma tail detection in 1769 and differentiating tail types historically.

Findings

Deviation of cometary tails often exceeded 10 degrees, indicating dust tails.

First historical indication of a plasma tail in 1769.

Archival data can provide valuable information on past solar wind conditions.

Abstract

The paper addressed to the problem of the solar wind behaviour during the Maunder Minimum. Records on plasma tails of comets would allow to shed light on the physical parameters of the solar wind in the past. We analyse descriptions and drawings of comets to the eighteenth century. To differentiate dust and plasma tails, we address to their color, shape and orientation. Basing on the calculations made by F.A. Bredikhin, we found that deviation of cometary tails from the antisolar direction on average exceeded 10 degrees, that is typical for dust tails. Catalogues of Hevelius and Lubieniecki are also examined. The first indication of plasma tail was revealed only for Great comet C/1769 P1.