A STEREO View of the Distribution of Dust Near 1-AU

The first orbit of STEREO WAVES (S/WAVES) data are analyzed to provide an initial 2D map of the distribution of dust (~10-nm ≤ d ≤ 0.30-µm) in the near-ecliptic plane in the vicinity of 1-AU. Striking differences exist in the dust detections of the respective STEREO spacecraft that suggest either the presence of spacecraft-dependent observational sensitivities or the presence of heliospheric radial- and/or latitudinal-dependent structures in the near-ecliptic distribution. Amid these observational differences, high spatial correlation exists between the dust detections of STEREO-A and known heliophysics spacecraft anomalies. Surprisingly, during extended periods of S/WAVES nano-dust detection, S/WAVES data indicate the presence of fine-scale spatial-temporal structure that cannot be explained by either gravitational resonance trapping or solar wind-driven Lorentz forces arguments. This fine-scale spatial-temporal structure may lend support to the theory that dust populations near 1-AU are dominated by cometary debris.