7 research outputs found
Statistical survey of day-side magnetospheric current flow using Cluster observations: magnetopause
We present a statistical survey of current structures observed by the Cluster
spacecraft at high-latitude day-side magnetopause encounters in the close
vicinity of the polar cusps. Making use of the curlometer technique and the
fluxgate magnetometer data, we calculate the 3-D current densities and
investigate the magnetopause current direction, location, and magnitude
during varying solar wind conditions. We find that the orientation of the
day-side current structures is in accordance with existing magnetopause
current models. Based on the ambient plasma properties, we distinguish five
different transition regions at the magnetopause surface and observe
distinctive current properties for each region. Additionally, we find that
the location of currents varies with respect to the onset of the changes in
the plasma environment during magnetopause crossings
Statistical survey of day-side magnetospheric current flow using Cluster observations: magnetopause
We present a statistical survey of current structures
observed by the Cluster spacecraft at high-latitude day-side
magnetopause encounters in the close vicinity of the polar
cusps. Making use of the curlometer technique and the fluxgate
magnetometer data, we calculate the 3-D current densities
and investigate the magnetopause current direction, location,
and magnitude during varying solar wind conditions.
We find that the orientation of the day-side current structures
is in accordance with existing magnetopause current models.
Based on the ambient plasma properties, we distinguish five
different transition regions at the magnetopause surface and
observe distinctive current properties for each region. Additionally,
we find that the location of currents varies with respect
to the onset of the changes in the plasma environment
during magnetopause crossings
The MASCOT Magnetometer
The Mobile Asteroid Scout (MASCOT) is a small lander on board the Hayabusa2 mission of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to the asteroid 162173 Ryugu. Among the instruments on MASCOT is a fluxgate magnetometer, the MASCOT Magnetometer (MasMag). The magnetometer is a lightweight ( ∼280 g∼280 g ) and low power ( ∼0.5 W∼0.5 W ) triaxial fluxgate magnetometer. Magnetic field measurements during the landing period and during the surface operational phase shall provide information about any intrinsic magnetic field of the asteroid and its remanent magnetization. This could provide important constraints on planet formation and the thermal and aqueous evolution of primitive asteroids.Thomas F. PetersonUnited States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Emerging Worlds Progra
Magnetic Properties of Asteroid (162173) Ryugu
©2020. The Authors. Observations of the magnetization state of asteroids indicate diverse properties. Values between 1.9 × 10 -6Am2/kg (Eros) and 10-2 Am2/kg (Braille) have been reported. A more detailed understanding of asteroidal magnetic properties allows far-reaching conclusions of the magnetization mechanism as well as the strength of the magnetic field of the solar system regions the asteroid formed in. The Hayabusa2 mission with its lander Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout is equipped with a magnetometer experiment, MasMag. MasMag is a state-of-the-art three-axis fluxgate magnetometer, successfully operated also on Philae, the Rosetta mission lander. MasMag has enabled, after Eros for the second time ever, to determine the magnetic field of an asteroid during descent and on-surface operations. The new observations show that Ryugu, a low-albedo C-type asteroid, has no detectable global magnetization, and any local magnetization is either small (< 10−6 Am2/kg) or on very small (subcentimeter) scales. This implies, for example, that energetic solar wind particles could reach and alter the surface unimpeded by strong asteroidal magnetic fields, such as minimagnetospheres in case of the Moon