Voyager 2 Constraints on Plasmoid‐based Transport at Uranus

A magnetosphere controls a planet's evolution by suppressing or enhancing atmospheric loss to space. In situ measurements of Uranus' magnetosphere from the Voyager 2 flyby in 1986 provide the only direct evidence of magnetospheric transport processes responsible for this atmospheric escape...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical research letters 2019-10, Vol.46 (19), p.10710-10718
Main Authors: DiBraccio, Gina A., Gershman, Daniel J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerospace environments
Charged particles
Dynamics
Environmental impact
Flyby missions
Ice Giant
Ice giant planets
In situ measurement
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Magnetic field
Magnetic fields
Magnetic flux
Magnetic reconnection
Magnetism
magnetosphere
Magnetospheric dynamics
Magnetotails
Planetary evolution
Planetary magnetic fields
Planetary magnetospheres
Planets
plasma transport
Plasmas (physics)
plasmoid
Solar wind
Spacecraft
Transport
Transport processes
Uranus
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Summary:A magnetosphere controls a planet's evolution by suppressing or enhancing atmospheric loss to space. In situ measurements of Uranus' magnetosphere from the Voyager 2 flyby in 1986 provide the only direct evidence of magnetospheric transport processes responsible for this atmospheric escape at Uranus. Analysis of high‐resolution Voyager 2 magnetic field data in Uranus' magnetotail reveals the presence of a loop‐like plasmoid filled with planetary plasma traveling away from the planet. This first plasmoid observation in an Ice Giant magnetosphere elucidates that (1) both internal and external forces play a role in Uranus' magnetospheric dynamics, (2) magnetic reconnection contributes to the circulation of plasma and magnetic flux at Uranus, and (3) plasmoids may be a dominant transport mechanism for mass loss through Uranus' magnetotail.
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007
DOI:10.1029/2019GL083909