HELIOSHEATH MAGNETIC FIELD AND PLASMA OBSERVED BY VOYAGER 2 DURING 2012 IN THE RISING PHASE OF SOLAR CYCLE 24
We discuss magnetic field and plasma observations of the heliosheath made by Voyager 2 (V2) during 2012, when V2 was observing the effects of increasing solar activity following the solar minimum in 2009. The average magnetic field strength B was 0.14 nT and B reached 0.29 nT on day 249. V2 was in a...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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IOP Publishing
2016
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/102644 |
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| author | Burlaga, L. F. Ness, N. F. Decker, R. B. Krimigis, S. M. Richardson, John D. |
| author2 | MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research |
| author_facet | MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research Burlaga, L. F. Ness, N. F. Decker, R. B. Krimigis, S. M. Richardson, John D. |
| author_sort | Burlaga, L. F. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | We discuss magnetic field and plasma observations of the heliosheath made by Voyager 2 (V2) during 2012, when V2 was observing the effects of increasing solar activity following the solar minimum in 2009. The average magnetic field strength B was 0.14 nT and B reached 0.29 nT on day 249. V2 was in a unipolar region in which the magnetic polarity was directed away from the Sun along the Parker spiral 88% of the time, indicating that V2 was poleward of the heliospheric current sheet throughout most of 2012. The magnetic flux at V2 during 2012 was constant. A merged interaction region (MIR) was observed, and the flow speed increased as the MIR moved past V2. The MIR caused a decrease in the >70 MeV nuc[superscript −1] cosmic-ray intensity. The increments of B can be described by a q-Gaussian distribution with q = 1.2 ± 0.1 for daily averages and q = 1.82 ± 0.03 for hour averages. Eight isolated current sheets ("PBLs") and four closely spaced pairs of current sheets were observed. The average change of B across the current sheets was a factor of ≈2, and B increased or decreased with equal probability. Magnetic holes and magnetic humps were also observed. The characteristic size of the PBLs was ≈6 R[subscript L], where R[subscript L] is the Larmor radius of protons, and the characteristic sizes of the magnetic holes and humps were ≈38 R[subscript L] and ≈11 R[subscript L], respectively. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T12:37:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/102644 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T12:37:14Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1026442022-09-28T09:03:20Z HELIOSHEATH MAGNETIC FIELD AND PLASMA OBSERVED BY VOYAGER 2 DURING 2012 IN THE RISING PHASE OF SOLAR CYCLE 24 Burlaga, L. F. Ness, N. F. Decker, R. B. Krimigis, S. M. Richardson, John D. MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research Richardson, John D. We discuss magnetic field and plasma observations of the heliosheath made by Voyager 2 (V2) during 2012, when V2 was observing the effects of increasing solar activity following the solar minimum in 2009. The average magnetic field strength B was 0.14 nT and B reached 0.29 nT on day 249. V2 was in a unipolar region in which the magnetic polarity was directed away from the Sun along the Parker spiral 88% of the time, indicating that V2 was poleward of the heliospheric current sheet throughout most of 2012. The magnetic flux at V2 during 2012 was constant. A merged interaction region (MIR) was observed, and the flow speed increased as the MIR moved past V2. The MIR caused a decrease in the >70 MeV nuc[superscript −1] cosmic-ray intensity. The increments of B can be described by a q-Gaussian distribution with q = 1.2 ± 0.1 for daily averages and q = 1.82 ± 0.03 for hour averages. Eight isolated current sheets ("PBLs") and four closely spaced pairs of current sheets were observed. The average change of B across the current sheets was a factor of ≈2, and B increased or decreased with equal probability. Magnetic holes and magnetic humps were also observed. The characteristic size of the PBLs was ≈6 R[subscript L], where R[subscript L] is the Larmor radius of protons, and the characteristic sizes of the magnetic holes and humps were ≈38 R[subscript L] and ≈11 R[subscript L], respectively. United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Contract 959203) 2016-05-24T00:17:01Z 2016-05-24T00:17:01Z 2016-02 2015-10 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1538-4357 0004-637X http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/102644 Burlaga, L. F., N. F. Ness, J. D. Richardson, R. B. Decker, and S. M. Krimigis. “ HELIOSHEATH MAGNETIC FIELD AND PLASMA OBSERVED BY VOYAGER 2 DURING 2012 IN THE RISING PHASE OF SOLAR CYCLE 24 .” The Astrophysical Journal 818, no. 2 (February 18, 2016): 147. © 2016 The American Astronomical Society en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/0004-637x/818/2/147 The Astrophysical Journal Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf IOP Publishing IOP Publishing |
| spellingShingle | Burlaga, L. F. Ness, N. F. Decker, R. B. Krimigis, S. M. Richardson, John D. HELIOSHEATH MAGNETIC FIELD AND PLASMA OBSERVED BY VOYAGER 2 DURING 2012 IN THE RISING PHASE OF SOLAR CYCLE 24 |
| title | HELIOSHEATH MAGNETIC FIELD AND PLASMA OBSERVED BY VOYAGER 2 DURING 2012 IN THE RISING PHASE OF SOLAR CYCLE 24 |
| title_full | HELIOSHEATH MAGNETIC FIELD AND PLASMA OBSERVED BY VOYAGER 2 DURING 2012 IN THE RISING PHASE OF SOLAR CYCLE 24 |
| title_fullStr | HELIOSHEATH MAGNETIC FIELD AND PLASMA OBSERVED BY VOYAGER 2 DURING 2012 IN THE RISING PHASE OF SOLAR CYCLE 24 |
| title_full_unstemmed | HELIOSHEATH MAGNETIC FIELD AND PLASMA OBSERVED BY VOYAGER 2 DURING 2012 IN THE RISING PHASE OF SOLAR CYCLE 24 |
| title_short | HELIOSHEATH MAGNETIC FIELD AND PLASMA OBSERVED BY VOYAGER 2 DURING 2012 IN THE RISING PHASE OF SOLAR CYCLE 24 |
| title_sort | heliosheath magnetic field and plasma observed by voyager 2 during 2012 in the rising phase of solar cycle 24 |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/102644 |
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