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At least 595 records · Page 33
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1978

A view of solar magnetic fields, the solar corona, and the solar wind in three dimensions

In the last few years it has been recognized that the solar corona and the solar wind are three-dimensional. The deviations from spherical or even cylindrical symmetry are first-order effects, which are important for a basic description and physical understanding of the coronal expansion. Models of coronal magnetic fields are considered along with the characteristics of large-scale solar structure, the interplanetary magnetic field, coronal holes, geomagnetic activity, cosmic rays, and polar fields of the sun. It is pointed out that the present understanding of coronal and interplanetary morphology is based on data acquired during the descending part and the minimum of the considered sunspot cycle.

Svalgaard, L.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Interplanetary flux enhancements - Comparison with cometary models and observations

Interplanetary field enhancements (IFE's) are unusual nearly symmetric increases in the strength of the interplanetary magnetic field lasting tens of minutes to hours. Examples of interplanetary field enhancements are compared with MHD models and with the data obtained by the ICE spacecraft at Giacobini-Zinner. These comparisons suggest that the varying properties of IFE's are due to the fact that some events are due to passages in front of the nucleus, others in the near tail and yet others in the distant tail.

Russell, C. T.↗
NASA NTRS1980

A model of the heliospheric magnetic field configuration

A three-dimensional model of the magnetic field configuration in the heliosphere is constructed by assuming that the interplanetary magnetic field consists of four components, (1) the solar dipole, (2) a large number of small spherical dipoles located along an equatorial circle just inside the sun (representing the magnetic field line arcade), (3) the field of the poloidal current system generated by the solar unipolar induction, and (4) the field of an extensive current disc around the sun lying in the ecliptic plane. The magnetic field intensity at a distance of 1 AU (about 20 solar radii above the ecliptic plane) is normalized to fit the observed spiral configuration.

Akasofu, S.-I.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Correlation of interplanetary-space B sub z field fluctuations and trapped-particle redistribution.

Observations of interplanetary magnetic field fluctuations in correlation with trapped particle fluctuations are discussed. From observations of particle-redistribution effects, properties of the magnetospheric electric field are derived. The obtained results suggest that the interplanetary B(sub z) field fluctuations might represent a strong driving source for particle diffusion.

Parks, G. K.↗
NASA NTRS1973

The induced magnetosphere of the moon. 1: Theory

An analytic solution for the magnetic field in the space defined by a spherical moon and its downstream cylindrical cavity formed by the solar wind is derived for interplanetary magnetic fields both parallel and perpendicular to the cavity axis. By superposition, the solution is obtained for arbitrary orientations of the interplanetary field. The theory is quasi-static and is formulated in terms of a scalar magnetic potential. Thus the moon model consists of a core of arbitrary size and infinite electrical conductivity surrounded by a nonconducting shell; the cavity volume is assumed to be nonconducting. The variation of the magnetic field on the lunar surface, both on the sunlit and on the dark side hemispheres, and on the cavity boundary is presented for various values of core radius. The solution yields the distribution of currents on the lunar sunlit surface and the surface of the cavity. Theoretical transfer functions are presented and their variations with position on the lunar surface and with core size are discussed.

Schubert, G.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Induced magnetosphere of the moon. I - Theory.

An analytic solution for the magnetic field in the space defined by a spherical moon and its downstream cylindrical cavity formed by the solar wind is derived for interplanetary magnetic fields both parallel and perpendicular to the cavity axis. By superposition, the solution is obtained for arbitrary orientations of the interplanetary field. The theory is quasi-static and is formulated in terms of a scalar magnetic potential. Thus, the moon model consists of a core of arbitrary size and infinite electrical conductivity surrounded by a nonconducting shell; the cavity volume is also assumed to be nonconducting. The variation of the magnetic field on the lunar surface (both sunlit and dark hemispheres) and on the cavity boundary is presented for various values of core radius.

Schubert, G.↗
NASA NTRS1967

Satellite and rocket observations.

Satellite and rocket magnetic field measurements noting magnetosphere boundary, geomagnetic tail, solar wind properties and solar interplanetary magnetic field

Heppner, J. P.↗
NASA NTRS1985

What we have learned about the magnetic field of Mars

Sufficient and unambiguous evidences of the intrinsic martian magnetic field are: (1) the independence of the field polarity in Maritan magnetic tail from interplanetary magnetic fields (IMF) polarity inversion, established with the help of Mars-5 data; and (2) the incongruity between the sign of the radial component of the field measured in Martian tail (Mars-2) and that of the draped model with IMF data measured simultaneously (Mars-3) on February 23-24, 1972. Mar's dipole magnetic moment is within the limits (1.5 to 2.2) x 10 to e 22 G cc. The dipole axis is deflected from that of rotation on the angle I 15 deg. The North magnetic pole is located in the South Hemisphere. In the frame of the precession-dinamo model the magnetic fields of the planets Mars and Earth are similar. The Martian magnetic field is the real obstacle for the solar wind near the planet.

Dolginov, S. S.↗
NASA NTRS1987

On the role of the quasi-parallel bow shock in ion pickup - A lesson from Venus?

Previous observations at Venus show convincing evidence of planetary O(+) ion pickup by the largescale motional -V x B electric field in the magnetosheath when the interplanetary magnetic field is perpendicular to the solar wind flow. However, the presence of magnetic field fluctuations in the magnetosheath downstream from the quasi-parallel bow shock should allow pickup to occur even when the upstream magnetic field B and plasma velocity V are practically coaligned. Single-particle calculations are used to demonstrate the convecting magnetic field fluctuations similar to those observed in the Venus magnetosheath when the subsolar bow shock is quasi-parallel can efficiently accelerate cold planetary ions by means of the electric field associated with their transverse components. This ion pickup process, which is characterized by a spatial dependence determined by the bow shock shape and the orientation of the upstream magnetic field, is likely also to occur at Mars and may be effective at comets.

Luhmann, J. G.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Solar wind mass-loading at Comet Halley - A lesson from Venus?

Recent observations at Comet Halley show that the region within which cometary ions become the dominant component lies outside of the magnetic field-free cavity. This behavior resembles that found at Venus under conditions where the incident solar wind dynamic pressure exceeds the ionospheric pressure. On these occasions the magnetosheath magnetic field is found well inside of the region where planetary ions are observed. Although scaling and the details of formation of the inner boundary of the magnetic field are different for these two objects, the processes by which the interplanetary magnetic field penetrates into the ionospheres at Venus and at Comet Halley are in many ways analogous.

Breus, T. K.↗
NASA NTRS1973

A variation of the Davis-Smith method for in-flight determination of spacecraft magnetic fields.

A variation of a procedure developed by Davis and Smith (1968) is presented for the in-flight determination of spacecraft magnetic fields. Both methods take statistical advantage of the observation that fluctuations in the interplanetary magnetic field over short periods of time are primarily changes in direction rather than in magnitude. During typical solar wind conditions between 0.8 and 1.0 AU, a statistical analysis of 2-3 days of continuous interplanetary field measurements yields an estimate of a constant spacecraft field with an uncertainty of plus or minus 0.25 gamma in the direction radial to the sun and plus or minus 15 gammas in the directions transverse to the radial. The method is also of use in estimating variable spacecraft fields with gradients of the order of 0.1 gamma/day and less and in other special circumstances.

Belcher, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The magnetic field investigation on the Ulysses mission - Instrumentation and preliminary scientific results

A fundamental feature of the heliosphere is the three-dimensional structure of the interplanetary magnetic field. The magnetic field investigation on Ulysses, the first space probe to explore the out-of-ecliptic and polar heliosphere, aims at determining the large-scale features and gradients of the field, as well as the heliolatitude dependence of interplanetary phenomena so far only observed near the ecliptic plane. The Ulysses magnetometer uses two sensors, one a Vector Helium Magnetometer, the other a Fluxgate Magnetometer. Onboard data processing yields measurements of the magnetic field vector with a time resolution up to 2 vectors/second and a sensitivity of about 10 pT. Since the switch-on of the instrument in flight on 25 October 1990, a steady stream of observations has been made, indicating that at this phase of the solar cycle the field is generally disturbed: several shock waves and a large number of discontinuities have been observed, as well as several periods with apparently intense wave activity. The paper gives a brief summary of the scientific objectives of the investigation, followed by a detailed description of the instrument and its characteristics. Examples of wave bursts, interplanetary shocks and crossings of the heliospheric current sheet are given to illustrate the observations made with the instrument.

Balogh, A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Channeled propagation of solar particles

Bartley (1966) and McCracken and Ness (1966) identified bundles of interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) lines that differed in direction from the interplanetary field lines in which they were imbedded. These bundles, called filaments differed in direction by as much as several tens of degrees from the surrounding field. The filaments werre first noticed due to the large and sudden change in flow direction of highly anisotropic solar flare protons in the energy range 1 to 13 MeV. Passage of the filaments over the spacecraft required a few hours, implying a diameter for the filaments of approximately 3 x 10 to the 6th power km at a distance of 1 AU from the Sun. In 1968, Jakipii and Parker used Leighton's hypothesis of random walk of magnetic field lines associated with granules and supergranules (1964) to develop a picture of an interplanetary medium composed of a tangle of field lines frozen into the solar wind, but whose feet were carried about by the random motions at the solar surface. Jakipii and Parker noted that using a correlation length of 15,000 km - about the radius of a supergranule - the magnetic structure would be 3 x 10 to the 6th power km in size of the filaments as determined by Bartley and McCracken and Ness. These workers did not find changes in the solar particle intensity, anisotropy ratio or energy spectrum as the spacecraft entered the filament.

Anderson, K. A.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Possible influence of solar rotation on tropospheric circulation

A large-scale structure observed in the photospheric magnetic field is carried out into the heliosphere by the solar wind. At Earth the resulting interplanetary magnetic field has polarity away from the Sun for several consecutive days followed by an abrupt reversal and several days with field polarity toward the Sun. Low-pressure troughs near the Gulf of Alaska appear to have significantly larger area when the interplanetary field is away from the Sun than when it is toward the Sun. This relation persisted during most of the winters of 1951 to 1973. Surface pressures around the Gulf of Alaska during some winters were in anti-phase for interplanetary field toward and away from the Sun. During the two days after a polarity reversal, the accuracy of the best weather forecasts for the continental United States appears to be significantly lower than at other times. Polarity reversals that are accompanied by energetic interplanetary conditions appear to be associated with a larger decrease in the area of the low pressure troughs.

Wilcox, J. M.↗