1. The low energy plasma in the Uranian magnetosphere
- Author
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Ralph L. McNutt, Fran Bagenal, M. R. Sands, R. S. Selesnick, Vytenis M. Vasyliunas, Edward C. Sittler, Aharon Eviatar, H. S. Bridge, A. J. Lazarus, John D. Richardson, Christoph K. Goertz, John W. Belcher, K. W. Ogilvie, and George L. Siscoe
- Subjects
Physics ,Atmospheric Science ,Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena ,Plasma sheet ,Uranus ,Aerospace Engineering ,Magnetosphere ,Astronomy ,Astronomy and Astrophysics ,Jupiter ,Solar wind ,Geophysics ,Space and Planetary Science ,Saturn ,Magnetosphere of Saturn ,Physics::Space Physics ,General Earth and Planetary Sciences ,Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics ,Magnetosphere of Jupiter - Abstract
The Plasma Science experiment on Voyager 2 detected a magnetosphere filled with a tenuous plasma, rotating with the planet. Temperatures of the plasma, composed of protons and electrons, ranged from 10 eV to about 1 keV. The sources of these protons and electrons are probably the ionosphere of Uranus or the extended neutral hydrogen cloud surrounding the planet. As at earth, Jupiter, and Saturn, there is an extended magnetotail with a central plasma sheet. Although similar in global structure to the magnetospheres of these planets, the large angle between the rotation and magnetic axes of the planet and the orientation of the rotation axis with respect to the solar wind flow make the Uranian magnetosphere unique.
- Published
- 1987