Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “MAGNETOSPHERE”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 433 records · Page 24
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1981

Planetary magnetospheres

A concise overview is presented of our understanding of planetary magnetospheres (and in particular, of that of the Earth), as of the end of 1981. Emphasis is placed on processes of astrophysical interest, e.g., on particle acceleration, collision-free shocks, particle motion, parallel electric fields, magnetic merging, substorms, and large scale plasma flows. The general morphology and topology of the Earth's magnetosphere are discussed, and important results are given about the magnetospheres of Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury, including those derived from the Voyager 1 and 2 missions and those related to Jupiter's satellite Io. About 160 references are cited, including many reviews from which additional details can be obtained.

Stern, D. P.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Plasma dynamics in the rapidly rotating magnetosphere of Jupiter

The major Voyager findings concerning the low energy plasma in the Jovian magnetosphere are reviewed. The magnetosphere of Jupiter is unique in the solar system because of its large extent and rapid rotation, and because of the prodigious source of plasma provided by the satellite Io. Io injects 10 to the 29th power AMU/sec of freshly ionized material into the Jovian magnetosphere, producing a plasma dominated by heavy ions which are mostly various ionization states of oxygen and sulfur. This injected material is the source for the Io plasma torus, which is centered at Io's L-shell with a scale height of 1 Jovian radii and a mass of approximately 10 to the 36th power AMU. Ninety percent of the injected plasma diffuses outward, forming the Jovian magnetodisk. Io interacts with the plasma torus via the generation of an Alfven wave which propagates from Io into the ionosphere of Jupiter, carrying an energy flux of approximately 10 to the 12th power watts.

Belcher, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Theory of the auroral magnetosphere

The aurora has come to be understood as a manifestation of energy transfer and plasma transfer from the solar wind to the magnetosphere. The auroral oval seems to be a mapping of the boundary layer that lies just inside the magnetospheric surface, which consists of the magnetopause and neutral sheet. The auroral oval is consequently a region of reversal for the meridional (r,8) component of the magnetospheric convection electric field and thus a region of strong shear in the plasma drift velocity field. The velocity shear seems to account for the formation of eddies in the auroral "curtain". Moreover, the Kinematical impedance associated with hot auroral plasma perpendicular electric field across a narrow region of latitude to occur without the formation of a large parallel electric field. The signature of the parallel electric field is such as to produce upgoing ion beams and precipitating electron beams in the PM (afternoon-evening) sector of local time, and to account for the polarity of Region-1 currents as a function of local time.

Schulz, M.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Theory of the auroral magnetosphere

The aurora is understood as a manifestation of energy transfer and plasma transfer from the solar wind to the magnetosphere. The auroral oval seems to be a mapping of the boundary layer that lies just inside the magnetospheric surface, which consists of the magnetopause and neutral sheet. The auroral oval is consequently a region of reversal for the meridional component of the magnetospheric convection electric field and thus a region of strong shear in the plasma drift velocity field. The velocity shear seems to account for the formation of eddies in the auroral curtain. Moreover, the kinematical impedance associated with hot auroral plasma in magnetic mirror geometry makes it impossible for the reversal of the perpendicular (meridional) electric field across a narrow region of latitude to occur without the formation of a large parallel electric field.

Schulz, M.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Dissipation and turbulent heating of plasma in Jupiter's magnetosphere

Voyager 1 observations of plasma waves in the dayside Jovian magnetosphere which show a correlation with measurements of localized concentrations of cool thermal plasma are presented. This moderately intense broadband electrostatic noise is shown to be of sufficient intensity to accelerate superthermal ions to energies approximately 1 keV and higher. This process can account for the extensive heating of plasma in the magnetosphere and can energize a fraction of heavy ions to injection threshold for a high-energy second stage acceleration mechanism. A brief discussion of the relation of this noise to Jovian magnetospheric dynamics is included.

Barbosa, D. D.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Ion anisotropies in the outer Jovian magnetosphere

Results are presented from Voyager 1 and 2 low-energy charged particle measurements of ion anisotropies in the outer Jovian magnetosphere (more than about 20 Jupiter radii). These anisotropies are the first observed from an instrument rotating in the spin plane of Jupiter. For the several ion species investigated, all the first-order anisotropies are strongly in the corotational sense throughout most of the Jovian magnetosphere and out to the magnetopause on the dayside. Evidence exists for a small component of outward flow in the corotating region. Beyond about 130-150 Jupiter radii along the Voyager outbound trajectories, the anisotropies suggest a magnetospheric wind flowing outward from Jupiter.

Carbary, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Magnetospheric substorms - A newly emerging model

A surge of progress in magnetospheric substorm studies is expected by the following three recent developments: (1) the finding of the solar wind-magnetosphere energy coupling function epsilon, (2) the determination of the Pedersen current distribution over the entire polar region, and (3) a new understanding of the auroral potential structure. In this paper, the significance of the three developments and the newly emerging model of magnetospheric substorms is described.

Akasofu, S.-I.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Generation of Alfven waves by deceleration of magnetospheric convection and broadband Pi pulsations

The generation of Alfven waves by the deceleration of magnetospheric convection caused by ionospheric loading effects in the magnetospheric dynamo is considered. A one-dimensional model of that region of the plasma sheet where convection is decelerated due to the dynamo process in the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling is formulated, and the stability of the region is analyzed in order to derive the growth rate of unstable Alfven waves. The effects of ionospheric damping on unstable Alfven wave packets bounding between hemispheres are estimated. It is found that the overall growth rate is proportional to the height-integrated Pedersen conductivity and the convection speed in the dynamic region, but changes into a damping rate when the Pedersen conductivity is reduced below a specific threshold. The unstable Alfven waves thus generated are also found to contribute to both burstlike and relatively continuous Pi pulsations observed during substorms.

Kan, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1982

ISEE 1 observations of VLF line radiation in the earth's magnetosphere

VLF line radiation in the magnetosphere is analyzed in an attempt to clarify the role of radiation from electric power lines in magnetospheric wave-particle interactions. Observations were made by the ISEE 1 satellite from October 1977 through August 1979 between L = 2 and L = 8 and 50 to 110 deg W longitude, a region encompassing the magnetic field lines linking the Eights, Siple and Roberval stations and in which VLF chorus activity had been linked to power line radiation. Line radiation was detected on 5 of 90 orbits, in all cases at frequencies below 4 kHz. The one event with a high S/N ratio exhibited lines changing frequency at rates from 22 to 6 Hz/min over a 9-min period. The radiation was detected at a time when whistler mode echoing was quite pronounced on lower L shells, and thus may have been a scattered component of line radiation echoing between hemispheres. It is concluded that very little of the background VLF wave energy in the outer magnetosphere is contained in line radiation, although the catalytic role of line radiation in controlling wave-particle interactions remains to be assessed.

Bell, T. F.↗
NASA NTRS1982

A high time resolution study of the solar wind-magnetosphere energy coupling function

A high time resolution study of the relationships between the solar wind-magnetosphere energy coupling function and the total energy dissipation rate of the magnetosphere is made using 5-min average values of solar wind data and of the geomagnetic indices AE and Dst. All the results are essentially the same as those obtained by the earlier studies which were based on the hourly average data set. Therefore, it is confirmed that the magnetosphere is primarily a driven system

Akasofu, S.-I.↗
NASA NTRS1982

July 29, 1977, magnetospheric studies - Impulsive waves, global dynamics and geomagnetic indices

Problems of magnetospheric physics addressed by the Coordinated Data Analysis Workshop are grouped into general areas. Immediate magnetospheric response to changes in the solar wind is considered in studies of impulsive waves traced through the magnetosphere to the ground, and interpreted in terms of fast-mode wave propagation. Magnetopause geometry and microstructure after the arrival of the interplanetary shock were analyzed with data from near-geostationary satellites. A model of particle convection during the first quarter of the day gave important evidence that the convection electric field penetrated to small radial distances for extended intervals, and another model is presented which relates the local time of substorm onset to the sector of the tail that was stressed immediately after the onset of daytime reconnection. The evidence for different reconnection patterns is assessed, and a pattern not previously considered is introduced.

Kivelson, M. G.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Charged particle periodicity in the Saturnian magnetosphere

The present investigation is concerned with the first definitive evidence for charged particle modulations near the magnetic rotation period at Saturn. This periodicity is apparent in the ratios (and spectra) of low energy charged particles in the Saturnian magnetosphere. Most of the data presented were taken during the Voyager 2 outbound portion of the Saturn encounter. During this time the spacecraft was at high latitudes (approximately 30 deg) in the southern hemisphere of the Saturnian magnetosphere. The probe's trajectory was approximately along the dawn meridian at an essentially constant local time. The observation that the charged particle modulation is consistent with the Saturn Kilometric Radiation (SKR) period provides a basic input for the resolution of a puzzle which has existed ever since the discovery of the SKR modulation. The charged particle periodicity identified suggests that a basic asymmetry must exist in the Saturnian magnetosphere.

Carbary, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Some consequences of corotating magnetospheric convection

A comparison is conducted of the expected signature of the inflow region of the proposed corotating convection pattern with relevant magnetic field and plasma flow observations made by Pioneers 10 and 11 and Voyagers 1 and 2 in the Jovian magnetosphere. A region of net plasma inflow would be characterized by superrotation and a negative radial current in the equatorial plane within a characteristic distance L. It is found that no value of L exists that is consistent with both plasma and magnetic field observations. Hence it is concluded that at the time of these flybys, such a simple large-scale convection pattern did not dominate the plasma transport in the outer magnetosphere, although the existence of such a pattern in the inner magnetosphere is not ruled out. A more detailed test is proposed to determine whether or not a superposition of corotating convection and radial diffusion is consistent with the observations.

Hill, T. W.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Magnetospheres of Jupiter and Saturn

During the time from 1973 to 1981, the giant planets, Jupiter and Saturn, have been studied with the aid of the spacecraft Pioneers 10, 11, and Voyagers 1 and 2. The present investigation is concerned with the study of the magnetospheres of these planets, taking into account the immediate region of their environment in which the planetary magnetic field is the dominant physical force, and the boundary of the magnetospheres which is formed by the interaction with the solar wind. Attention is given to the recent results obtained by the Voyagers. It is found that the basic features of the magnetospheres of Jupiter and Saturn are similar to those of the earth. There are, however, also differences with the earth which relate to the large amount of entrapped low energy plasmas that form a magnetodisk and an Io associated torus at Jupiter, while at Saturn there is a Titan torus and a substantial ring current.

Ness, N. F.↗
NASA NTRS1982

The magnetosphere of Saturn

Information about the magnetosphere of Saturn is provided: the magnetic dipole moment is axisymmetric, the bow shock stand-off distance is about 22 R sub S. The satellites Titan, Dione, and Tethys are probably the primary sources of magnetospheric plasma. Outside of approx. 4 R sub S, energetic particles are energized by diffusing inward while conserving their first and second adiabatic invariants. Particles are lost by satellite sweep-out, absorption byt the E ring and probably also by plasma interactions. The inner magnetosphere is characterized.

Schardt, A. W.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Nonlinear longitudinal resonance interaction of energetic charged particles and VLF waves in the magnetosphere

The longitudinal resonance of waves and energetic electrons in the Earth's magnetosphere, and the possible role this resonance may play in generating various magnetospheric phenomena are studied. The derivation of time-averaged nonlinear equations of motion for energetic particles longitudinally resonant with a whistler mode wave propagating with nonzero wave normal is considered. It is shown that the wave magnetic forces can be neglected at lower particle pitch angles, while they become equal to or larger than the wave electric forces for alpha 20 deg. The time-averaged equations of motion were used in test particle simulation which were done for a wide range of wave amplitudes, wave normals, particle pitch angles, particle parallel velocities, and in an inhomogeneous medium such as the magnetosphere. It was found that there are two classes of particles, trapped and untrapped, and that the scattering and energy exchange for those two groups exhibit significantly different behavior.

Tkalcevic, S.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Charged dust in Saturn's magnetosphere

The overall distribution of fine dust in the Saturnian magnetosphere, its behavior, the cosmogony of the Saturnian ring system, and observations of the magnetosphere and ring system are synthesized and explained using gravito-electrodynamics. Among the phenomena discussed are the formation of waves in the F-ring, the cause of eccentricities of certain isolated ringlets, and the origin and morphology of the broad diffuse E-ring. Magnetogravitational resonance of charged dust with nearby satellites, gyro-orbital resonances, and magnetogravitational capture of exogenic dust by the magnetosphere are used to explain individual observations. The effect of a ring current associated with the charged dust is evaluated. Finally, the cosmogonic implications of the magnetogravitational theory are discussed.

Mendis, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The magnetosphere of Uranus - Plasma sources, convection, and field configuration

It is suggested by qualitative considerations based on analogy with earth, Jupiter, and Saturn that the magnetosphere of Uranus may lack a plasma source able to produce significant internal currents, internal convection, and associated effects. A class of approximately self-consistent quantitative magnetohydrostatic equilibrium configurations for the case of a pole-on magnetosphere with variable plasma parameters is presently constructed in order to test this hypothesis by means of forthcoming Voyager measurements. The configurations that can be computed for the geometries of the magnetic field and of the tail current sheet, for a given distribution of plasma pressure, have a single, funnel-shaped polar cusp pointing into the solar wind and a cylindrical tail plasma sheet whose currents close within the tail, rather than on the tail magnetopause. Interconnection of interplanetary and magnetospheric fields yields a highly asymmetric tail-field configuration.

Voigt, G.-H.↗