ULYSSES plasma observations in the Jovian magnetosheath

Details ULYSSES plasma observations in the Jovian magnetosheath ULYSSES plasma observations in the Jovian magnetosheath

Dec 1993

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1993jgr....9821189p&link_type=abstract

Journal of Geophysical Research (ISSN 0148-0227), vol. 98, no. A12, p. 21,189-21,202

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

25

Jupiter (Planet), Magnetosheath, Planetary Magnetospheres, Plasma Interactions, Shock Wave Interaction, Solar Planetary Interactions, Solar Wind, Spaceborne Astronomy, Electron Distribution, Electron Energy, Planetary Magnetic Fields, Plasma Density, Plasma Heating, Ulysses Mission

Scientific paper

The solar wind plasma experiment aboard the Ulysses spacecraft, including separate ion and electron instruments, measured the plasma properties of the Jovian magnetosheath during the February 1992 encounter with Jupiter. Seven separate magnetosheath intervals were observed, as well as four bow shock crossings and numerous encounters with the magnetopause and its boundary layer. We present an overview of ion and electron bulk parameters and a sampling of distribution shapes for the magnetosheath and adjacent plasma regions. Plasma flows are generally appropriate for slowing and deflection of the solar wind flow about a relatively stationary obstacle, with the notable exception of the first inbound sheath transit, when an expanding magnetosphere resulted in sunward flow just above the magnetopause. The existence of a planetary depletion layer is suggested by trends in plasma density for some magnetopause encounters. The magnetopause boundary layer is characterized by a combination of sheath-like and magnetospheric distributions of both ions and electrons. The ion population in the sheath is observed to include a significant population of suprathermal protons. Electron distributions have a distinctive shape previously observed in the terrestrial magnetosheath, with fluxes parallel to the magnetic field dominating at thermal energies and perpendicular fluxes dominating at higher energies. Trends in electron temperature near the bow shock indicate that shock motion plays an important role in heating the electrons. In general, the plasma characteristics of the Jovian magnetosheath are quite similar to those in its terrestrial counterpart, but the compressible nature of the Jovian magnetosphere accentuates the importance of boundary motions.

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