The magnetic attraction of Jupiter

Abstract

If we could see Jupiter's magnetic environment or magnetosphere in our sky, it would be many times the size of the Sun or full Moon – even though it is about five times further away from the Earth than the Sun. Indeed, apart from the solar wind – which reaches well beyond the realm of the planets – Jupiter's magnetosphere is the largest object in the solar system. Fly-bys past Jupiter by two Pioneer spacecraft, two Voyagers, Ulysses and Galileo have given much information about this truly giant planetary magnetosphere. But single-spacecraft missions are prone to spatial-temporal ambiguities: the situation is a bit like trying to measure the shape, motion and evolution of a terrestrial rain cloud using a moisture sensor on a single aircraft.