Two‐spacecraft observations of an interplanetary slow shock

Abstract

Slow‐mode shocks in space have been identified via one spacecraft observation by many authors since 1970. However, Feng et al. suggested that the analysis using single‐spacecraft observation based only on the Rankine‐Hugoniot relations could misinterpret a tangential discontinuity as a slow shock. In this paper, we identify a slow‐mode shock using a model fitting based on both the Rankine‐Hugoniot relations and intraspacecraft timing. As a result, we found a slow‐shock solution that, including the local parameters and propagation time, agrees well with the observations. The slow shock may be associated with an asymmetric reconnection exhaust at a heliospheric current sheet.