The interaction of the shocked solar wind with the ionosphere of Venus (with a glimpse to Titan)

In this review, we attempt to show that investigators in the early stage of the data analysis of the Pioneer Venus Orbiter, and previous missions reached a physical picture which is still valid for the description of the interaction of the shocked solar wind with a non-magnetized, conductive obstacle like Venus. It was concluded that behind the bow shock an extended layer (the so-called “mantle) separated the shocked plasma flow and the ionosphere. Elements of this picture were forgotten, reinvented then under new names. We summarize these early results; and we show that current results do validate this early picture, while its details have been much enhanced. We also present a model that describes wave excitations, attempting to explain how events on microphysical scale can be connected to the more general macrophysical experimental results. The results of the Cassini mission near Titan are used as examples.