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Science 4 July 1986:
Vol. 233. no. 4759, pp. 89 - 93
DOI: 10.1126/science.233.4759.89
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Articles

Plasma Observations Near Uranus: Initial Results from Voyager 2

H. S. BRIDGE 1, J. W. BELCHER 1, B. COPPI 1, A. J. LAZARUS 1, R. L. MCNUTT JR. 1, S. OLBERT 1, J. D. RICHARDSON 1, M. R. SANDS 1, R. S. SELESNICK 1, J. D. SULLIVAN 1, R. E. HARTLE 2, K. W. OGILVIE 2, E. C. SITTLER JR. 2, F. BAGENAL 3, R. S. WOLFF 4, V. M. VASYLIUNAS 5, G. L. SISCOE 6, C. K. GOERTZ 7, and A. EVIATAR 8

1 Center for Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139.
2 NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771.
3 Imperial College, London, England.
4 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109.
5 Max-Planck-Institüt für Aeronomie, Katlenburg-Lindau, Federal Republic of Germany.
6 Department of Atmospheric Science, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90024.
7 Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242.
8 Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.

Extensive measurements of low-energy positive ions and electrons in the vicinity of Uranus have revealed a fully developed magnetosphere. The magnetospheric plasma has a warm component with a temperature of 4 to 50 electron volts and a peak density of roughly 2 protons per cubic centimeter, and a hot component, with a temperature of a few kiloelectron volts and a peak density of roughly 0.1 proton per cubic centimeter. The warm component is observed both inside and outside of L = 5, whereas the hot component is excluded from the region inside of that L shell. Possible sources of the plasma in the magnetosphere are the extended hydrogen corona, the solar wind, and the ionosphere. The Uranian moons do not appear to be a significant plasma source. The boundary of the hot plasma component at L = 5 may be associated either with Miranda or with the inner limit of a deeply penetrating, solar wind-driven magnetospheric convection system. The Voyager 2 spacecraft repeatedly encountered the plasma sheet in the magnetotail at locations that are consistent with a geometric model for the plasma sheet similar to that at Earth.

Submitted on March 31, 1986
Accepted on May 5, 1986


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Magnetic Fields at Uranus.
N. F. Ness, N. F. NESS, M. H. ACUNA, K. W. BEHANNON, L. F. BURLAGA, J. E. P. CONNERNEY, R. P. LEPPING, and F. M. NEUBAUER (1986)
Science 233, 85-89
   Abstract »    PDF »
The Magnetosphere of Uranus: Hot Plasma and Radiation Environment.
S. M. KRIMIGIS, T. P. ARMSTRONG, W. I. AXFORD, A. F. CHENG, G. GLOECKLER, D. C. HAMILTON, E. P. KEATH, L. J. LANZEROTTI, and B. H. MAUK (1986)
Science 233, 97-102
   Abstract »    PDF »
First Plasma Wave Observations at Uranus.
D. A. GURNETT, W. S. KURTH, F. L. SCARF, and R. L. POYNTER (1986)
Science 233, 106-109
   Abstract »    PDF »


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)