In the past, observations of the sector structure of the interplanetary magnetic field have been limited to a heliographic latitude of +/- 7.25 deg because spacecraft trajectories have consistently been in or near the ecliptic. The postencounter trajectory of Pioneer 11, which is now en route from Jupiter to Saturn, takes this spacecraft to much higher latitudes than have been previously explored. A study of the sector structure has in this connection been conducted during the ascent of Pioneer 11 to a maximum heliographic latitude of 16 deg. The Pioneer 11 observations demonstrate the presence in interplanetary space of an equatorial current sheet tilted at an angle of about 15 deg to the solar equatorial plane. Thus there is actually only one sector boundary in interplanetary space, not several, as would have been the case if the orientation had been meridional.

https://www.leif.org/EOS/JA083iA02p00717.pdf

Observations of the interplanetary sector structure up to heliographic latitudes of 16°: Pioneer 11

The magnetic field measurements from Voyager and the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) processes in the outer heliosphere are reviewed. A bibliography of the experimental and theoretical work concerning magnetic fields and plasmas observed in the outer heliosphere is given. Emphasis in this review is on basic concepts and dynamical processes involving the magnetic field. The theory that serves to explain and unify the interplanetary magnetic field and plasma observations is magnetohydrodynamics. Basic physical processes and observations that relate directly to solutions of the MHD equations are emphasized, but obtaining solutions of this complex system of equations involves various assumptions and approximations. The spatial and temporal complexity of the outer heliosphere and some approaches for dealing with this complexity are discussed.

/pdf/mhd-processes-in-the-outer-heliosphere-30x5ya5tnm.pdf

MHD processes in the outer heliosphere

Recent and ongoing planetary missions have provided extensive observations of the variations of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) both in time and with heliocentric distance from the sun. Large time variations in both the IMF and its fluctuations were observed. These are produced predominantly by dynamical processes in the interplanetary medium associated with stream interactions. Magnetic field variations near the sun are propagated to greater heliocentric distances, also contributing to the observed variablity of the IMF. Temporal variations on a time-scale comparable to or less than the corotation period complicate attempts to deduce radial gradients of the field and its fluctuations from the various observations. However, recent measurements inward to 0.46 AU and outward to 5 AU suggest that the radial component of the field on average decreases approximately as r to the minus second power, while the azimuthal component decreases more rapidly than the r to the minum first power dependence predicted by simple theory. This, and other observations, are discussed.

/pdf/heliocentric-distance-dependence-of-the-interplanetary-2horh39dx9.pdf

E. J. Smith

Papers

Radial gradients in the interplanetary magnetic field between 1.0 and 4.3 AU - Pioneer 10