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Explorer 34 magnetic field measurements near the tail current sheet and auroral activity

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Abstract

Explorer 34 (Imp 4) 2.56 s magnetic data during 131 traversals of the tail current sheet are presented along with simultaneous 2.5 min auroral electrojet indices AE and AL. The normal magnetic field,B ⊥, satellite crossing times and positions are tabulated for these 131 crossings.B ⊥ is defined in the center of the sheet: it is the vector magnetic field at the time of field minimum during the crossing (B x component changes sign). It is remarkable that the only normal components too large in magnitude to be classified as ‘fine structure’ occur near the time of onset of an ‘AE event’. Cases are discussed where the normal component, defined near the plasma sheet edges, has the opposite sign compared to the normal component defined at the sheet center. For quiet times, the current sheet may be only about 1000 km thick within a 3R e (Earth-radii) plasma sheet, and may carry some 10–15% of the total tail current.

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Author notes

  1. T. G. Forbes

    Present address: Applied Mathematics Department, The University, St. Andrews, Scotland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Astro-Geophysics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colo., USA

    T. W. Speiser & T. G. Forbes

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  1. T. W. Speiser
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Speiser, T.W., Forbes, T.G. Explorer 34 magnetic field measurements near the tail current sheet and auroral activity. Astrophys Space Sci 77, 409–442 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00649469

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00649469

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