Interplanetary field enhancements in the solar wind: Evidence for cometesimals at 0.72 and 1.0 AU?

A new class of interplanetary magnetic disturbance has been identified which consists of a nearly symmetric rise and fall of the magnetic field surrounding a cusp-shaped maximum. These disturbances have been hypothesized to be caused by the mass-loading of the solar wind by small outgassing bodies. The clustering of these events in space suggests that not all the events are independent. Clustering is greatest at 0.72 AU because of one very strong family of events associated with the orbit of the asteroid 2201 Oljato. The events are larger at 0.72 AU than at 1 AU. The timing of the disturbances at both 1 AU and 0.72 AU relative to Oljato suggests the presence of outgassing debris both in front of and behind the asteroid.