Abstract
Abstract. Ganymede's mini-magnetosphere, embedded in Jupiter's larger one, sustains ULF (ultra-low frequency) waves that are analyzed here using data from two Galileo flybys that penetrate deeply into the upstream closed field line region. The magnetometer data are used to identify field line resonances, magnetopause waves and ion cyclotron waves. The plasma densities that are inferred from the interpretation of these waves are compared with the observations made by other plasma and wave experiments on Galileo and with numerical and theoretical models of Ganymede's magnetosphere.
Highlights
Ganymede is the third Galilean moon of Jupiter and has a radius of 2631.2 km, which makes it the largest moon in the solar system
The first Galileo flybys of this moon surprisingly showed that it possesses an internal magnetic field strong enough to create its own mini-magnetosphere inside that of Jupiter (Kivelson et al, 1996, 1998)
We will investigate the ULF wave activity in the neighbourhood of Ganymede along these two flybys first based on analysis of the magnetic field data and investigate the data from other experiments (PLS (Plasma Instrumentation), PWS (Plasma Wave Spectrometer), EPD (Energetic Particle Detector))
Summary
Ganymede is the third Galilean moon of Jupiter and has a radius of 2631.2 km, which makes it the largest moon in the solar system. In this paper we will discuss two upstream Galileo flybys of Ganymede (G8 and G28), during which the spacecraft passed close to the moon and entered into regions of closed magnetic field lines. These two flybys encountered Ganymede during two extreme locations of the moon in the Jovian current sheet. The small values of Br, the background Jovian radial magnetic field and the centrifugal latitude for G8 show that the moon is near the centre of the current sheet (centrifugal equator) with an estimated maximum ion density of ni ≈ 8 cm−3 (e.g. Kivelson et al, 2004). We will investigate the ULF (ultra-low frequency) wave activity in the neighbourhood of Ganymede along these two flybys first based on analysis of the magnetic field data and investigate the data from other experiments (PLS (Plasma Instrumentation), PWS (Plasma Wave Spectrometer), EPD (Energetic Particle Detector))
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