Engineering topics

Burlaga, L. F.

Publications and source records attributed to Burlaga, L. F..

At least 163 records · Page 9

NASA NTRS1982

Evidence for a distant ( 8700 R sub J) Jovian magnetotail: Voyager 2 observations

A correlative survey of magnetometer (MAG) and Planetary Radio Astronomy (PRA) 1.2 kHz continuum radiation measurements from Voyager 2 provide evidence for at least eight distant Jovian magnetotail sightings occurring about once a month over the first 2/3 of 1981 at distances of approximately 5,000 to 9,000 R sub J. The occurrences of these events are in good agreement with prior Plasma Wave Science and Plasma Science identifications. Observations of these distant magnetotail, or tail filament, encounters appear most prevalent in both MAC and PRA data sets when the spacecraft was closest to the Jupiter-Sun axis at approximately 6,500 R sub J from the planet; the PRA events are also most intense during those times. A specific tail encounter occurring in mid-February 1981 is analyzed and shown to possess a remarkably symmetric magnetic field signature and to have a bipolar field structure in the central region. The bipolarity is characteristic of most of the eight events.

Lepping, R. P.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Magnetic clouds between 2-4 AU: Voyager observations

Magnetic clouds were observed in the solar wind between 2-4 AU. It was shown that they are stable enough to persist without major changes out to such distances. It is estimated that the clouds expand at a speed of the order of 45 km/s. The average Alfven speed at the front and rear boundaries is 104 km/s, the expansion speed is estimated to be nearly half of the Alfven speed, which is consistent with an earlier estimate of the expansion speed of clouds between the Sun and 1 AU. The magnetic field configuration is highly ordered and consistent with the passage of some kind of loop.

Burlaga, L. F.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Large-scale variations of the interplanetary magnetic field: Voyager 1 and 2 observations between 1-5 AU

Observations by the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft of the interplanetary magnetic field between 1 and 5 AU were used to investigate the large scale structure of the IMF in a period of increasing solar activity. The Voyager spacecraft found notable deviations from the Parker axial model. These deviations are attributed both to temporal variations associated with increasing solar activity, and to the effects of fluctuations of the field in the radial direction. The amplitude of the latter fluctuations were found to be large relative to the magnitude of the radial field component itself beyond approximately 3 AU. Both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 observed decreases with increasing heliocentric distance in the amplitude of transverse fluctuations in the averaged field strength (B) which are consistent with the presence of predominantly undamped Alfven waves in the solar wind, although and necessarily implying the presence of them. Fluctuations in the strength of B (relative to mean field strength) were found to be small in amplitude, with a RMS which is approximately one third of that for the transverse fluctuations and they are essentially independent of distance from the Sun.

Burlaga, L. F.↗

NASA NTRS1981

The coronal and interplanetary current sheet in early 1976

A comparison of Helios 1 and 2 observations of the interplanetary sector pattern in early 1976 with the maximum brightness curves in the K coronameter data at 1.5 solar radii shows that the latter may be identified with the footprints of the sector boundary surface to an accuracy of about 10 deg. The sector boundary surface probably extended to about 15 deg in the Northern Hemisphere and to about 30 deg in the Southern Hemisphere, with little change between 1.5 solar radii and 1 AU. The surface was warped appreciably from a single titled plane (a dipole configuration) suggesting a significant magnetic quadrupole contribution.

Burlaga, L. F.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Observations of the magnetic field and plasma flow in Jupiter's magnetosheath

A comprehensive description is given of the Jovian MS magnetic fields, and explanations of these phenomena are proposed. While emphasizing Voyager 1 and 2 magnetic field observations and their relations to the plasma observations, it is also shown that the same phenomena are present in the Pioneer 10 magnetic field data. An unusually high occurrence of nearly north or south fields is observed in the outbound MS, especially in the vicinity of the MP. It is noted that the outbound MS fields and their variations tend to occur in a plane parallel to the local MP, according to large scale MP models.

Lepping, R. P.↗

NASA NTRS1981

The Jovian magnetotail and its current sheet

A summary is given of the results of a further analysis of the magnetic field measurements in Jupiter's magnetic tail and in the region of the tail current sheet by both V1 and V2. Four studies are discussed. The first is a determination of the variation of the average magnetic field magnitude in the lobes of the magnetotail, that is, outside the plasma sheet, as a function of distance from the planet. The second is an examination of the variation with distance from Jupiter of the ratio of the azimuthal component of the magnetic field to the product of the radial distance and the radial component of the magnetic field. The third is a study of the detailed structure and orientation of the tail current sheet system, including both detailed illustrations of typical sheet crossings and the results of a minimum variance analysis of all V2 tail sheet traversals. The fourth is an investigation of various models which predict the position of the current sheet in the outer Jovian magnetosphere as a function of both time and location.

Behannon, K. W.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Surface waves on Saturn's magnetopause

Voyager 1 magnetometer data have shown that small-amplitude surface waves occurred on Saturn's dayside magnetopause, causing multiple inbound crossings of this boundary. These waves were travelling approximately parallel to Saturn's equatorial plane along the magnetopause ('tailward'), suggesting that they were driven by the rotation of Saturn's magnetosphere. Hydromagnetic waves (possibly slow mode) were observed in the adjacent magnetosheath.

Lepping, R. P.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Magnetic field studies by Voyager 1 - Preliminary results at Saturn

Confirmation and refinement of Saturnian magnetosphere features established by the Pioneer 11 emission are claimed for Voyager 1 magnetic field studies of the planet. The radius of the magnetopause at the subsolar point is 23 Saturn radii, and a magnetic tail of 80 Saturn radii diameter was discovered. The tail extends away from the sun and is similar to both type II comet tails and the terrestrial and Jovian magnetic tails. Data from Voyager's very close flyby of Titan, which is located within the Saturn magnetosphere, shows an absence of any substantial, intrinsic satellite magnetic field.

Ness, N. F.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Interplanetary magnetic clouds at 1 AU

Magnetic clouds are defined as regions with a radial dimension approximately 0.25 AU (at 1 AU) in which the magnetic field strength is high and the magnetic field direction changes appreciably by means of rotation of one component of B nearly parallel to a plane. The magnetic field geometry in such a magnetic cloud is consistent with that of a magnetic loop, but it cannot be determined uniquely. Forty-five clouds were identified in interplanetary data obtained near Earth between 1967 and 1978; at least one cloud passed the Earth every three months. Three classes of clouds were identified, corresponding to the association of a cloud with a shock, a stream interface, or a CME. There are approximately equal numbers of clouds in each class, and the three types of clouds might be different manifestations of a coronal transient. The magnetic pressure inside the clouds is higher than the ion pressure and the sum is higher than the pressure of the material outside of the cloud.

Klein, L. W.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Jupiter's magnetopause, bow shock, and 10-hour modulated magnetosheath Voyagers 1 and 2

This summary report discusses Jupiter's magnetopause, bow shock and magnetosheath, based on fine scale magnetic field data from the Voyager 1 and 2 encounters. Explicit models of the dawnside magnetopause and bow shock in Jupiter's orbital plane employ an axisymmetric parabola and hyperbola, respectively, and satisfy average boundary crossing positions, inbound and outbound; these models are determined separately for the two encounters. A new phenomenon has been discovered in Jupiter's magnetosheath. It is manifested as (5 or) 10 hour quasi-periodic modulation of the direction of the magnetic field in the outbound magnetosheath, predominantly in the northward (N) and southward (S) directions. It was seen to occur during both encounters and appears most evident in Voyager 2 outbound observations.

Lepping, R. P.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Configuration of Jupiter's magnetic tail and equatorial current sheet

Recent research reports by Behannon et al. (1981) and Connerney et al. (1981) are summarized. It is noted that the analysis made of the detailed neutral sheet crossings by the minimum variance method shows a consistent result with regard to the orientation of the neutral sheet in the magnetic tail as a two-dimensional surface rocking back and forth about the Jupiter sun-line as the rotation of the planet leads to a precession of the tilted dipole magnetic axis. The occurrence of neutral sheet crossings is found not to be consistent with any of the axially symmetric theoretical models proposed earlier on the basis of the 1974 Pioneer 10 observations. It is noted that a simple nonaxially symmetric model has been developed on the basis of the Voyager results which indicates the strong control upon orientation by the interaction of the solar wind with the Jovian magnetosphere. The model is described as simple because it improves the fit of theory to observation but uses fewer parameters. A quantitative model of the magnetodisc equatorial current sheet has been developed for the inner magnetosphere region which matches well the in-situ magnetic field observations.

Ness, N. F.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Observations of the magnetic field and plasma flow in Jupiter's magnetosheath

Large scale (many minutes to 10 hours) magnetic field structures consisting predominantly of nearly north-south field direction were discovered in Jupiter's magnetosheath from the data of Voyagers 1 and 2 and Pioneer 10 during their outbound encounter trajectories. The Voyager 2 data, and that of Voyager 1 to a lesser extent, show evidence of a quasi-period of 10 hours (and occasionally 5 hours) for these structures. The north-south components of the field and plasma velocity were strongly correlated in the outbound magnetosheath as observed by Voyagers 1 and 2, and the components orthogonal to the north-south direction showed weak correlations. For both Voyager encounters the sense (positive and negative) of the north-south correlations were directly related to the direction of the ecliptic plane component of the interplanetary magnetic field using the field and plasma measurements of the non-encountering spacecraft.

Lepping, R. P.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Jupiter's magnetopause, bow shock, and 10-hour modulated magnetosheath: Voyagers 1 and 2

Fine scale magnetic field data from the Voyager 1 and 2 magnetopause and bow shock crossings at Jupiter were analyzed. Explicit models of the dawnside magnetopause and bow shock in Jupiter's orbital plane employ an axisymmetric parabola and hyperbola, respectively, and are determined separately for the encounters. A new phenomenon was discovered in the magnetosheath. It is manifested as (5 or) 10 hour quasi-periodic modulation of the direction of the magnetic field in the outbound magnetosheath, predominantly in the northward (N) and southward (S) directions. It was seen to occur during both encounters and appears most evident in Voyager 2 outbound observations, probably due to the extreme tailward extent of the Voyager 2 trajectory through the magnetosheath. The durations of the N to and from S transitions range from tens of minutes to approximately 3 hours. The directional variation of the field during these transitions is fairly well restricted to a plane parallel to the local model magnetopause location. These signatures may be due to magnetosheath field line draping modulated by the large scale motion of the magnetospheric plasma disk.

Lepping, R. P.↗

NASA NTRS1980

The Jovian magnetotail and its current sheet

Analyses of Voyager magnetic field measurements have extended the understanding of the structural and temporal characteristics of Jupiter's magnetic tail. The magnitude of the magnetic field in the lobes of the tail is found to decrease with Jovicentric distance approximately as r to he-1.4, compared with the power law exponent of -1.7 found for the rate of decrease along the Pioneer 10 outbound trajectory. Voyager observations of magnetic field component variations with Jovicentric distance in the tail do not support the uniform radial plasma outflow model derived from Pioneer data. Voyager 2 has shown that the azimuthal current sheet which surrounds Jupiter in the inner and middle magnetosphere extends tailward (in the anti-Sun direction) to a distance of at least 100 R sub J. In the tail this current sheet consists of a plasma sheet and embedded neutral sheet. In the region of the tail where the sheet is observed, the variation of the magnetic field as a result of the sheet structure and its 10 hr periodic motion is the dominant variation seen.

Behannon, K. W.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Interplanetary sector boundaries 1971-1973

The large-scale morphology and internal structure of sector boundaries (SB) are investigated, using observations at 1 AU of interplanetary SB crossings. It was found that the durations of the SBs were either relatively short (less than about 10 min) or relatively long (longer than about 3 hours). Using the minimum variance technique, it was found that the SB surfaces were inclined appreciably with respect to the ecliptic at this epoch of the solar cycle (1971-1973). Magnetic holes were found in thick SBs at a rate about three times that elsewhere. In addition, an analysis of tangential discontinuities showed that their orientations were generally not related to the orientations of the SB surface, but their characteristics were very similar to those for discontinuities outside the SBs.

Klein, L.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Magnetic clouds in the solar wind

Two interplanetary magnetic clouds, characterized by anomalous magnetic field directions and unusually high magnetic field strengths with a scale of the order of 0.25 AU, are identified and described. As the clouds moved past a spacecraft located in the solar wind near Earth, the magnetic field direction changed by rotating approximately 180 deg nearly parallel to a plane which was essentially perpendicular to the ecliptic. The configuration of the magnetic field in the clouds might be that of a tightly wound cylindrical helix or a series of closed circular loops. One of the magnetic clouds was in a cold stream preceded by a shock, and it caused both a geomagnetic storm and a depression in the galactic cosmic ray intensity. No stream, geomagnetic storm, or large cosmic ray decrease was associated with the other magnetic cloud.

Burlaga, L. F.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Disturbances observed near Ganymede by Voyager 2

In the present paper, it is suggested that the observation of cavities near Ganymede can be explained by a model which postulates that Ganymede continuously creates a cavity that is stretched out into a sheet along X by rotation and is spatially distorted by a spectrum of Alfven waves with perturbations along Y and with wavelengths comparable to the size of the field lines passing through Ganymede. Possible causes of the cavities are examined.

Burlaga, L. F.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Geomagnetopause surface fluctuations observed by Voyager 1

The paper discusses the geomagnetopause surface fluctuations observed by Voyager 1. Normals to the magnetopause were determined for the crossings of Voyager 1 by minimum variance analysis of the internal magnetic field; the oscillating nature of the ecliptic plane component of these normals indicates that the multiple crossings were due to a wavelike surface disturbance moving tailward along the magnetopause. The estimated amplitude of these waves was small compared to their wavelengths; this conclusion is independent of any bulk normal motion of the magnetopause.

Lepping, R. P.↗