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The flapping motion of the Venusian magnetotail: Venus Express observations
Author(s) -
Rong Z. J.,
Barabash S.,
Stenberg G.,
Futaana Y.,
Zhang T. L.,
Wan W. X.,
Wei Y.,
Wang X. D.,
Chai L. H.,
Zhong J.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9402
pISSN - 2169-9380
DOI - 10.1002/2015ja021317
Subject(s) - flapping , venus , physics , current sheet , magnetosheath , solar wind , magnetosphere , geophysics , plasma sheet , bow shock (aerodynamics) , magnetic field , mechanics , magnetopause , astrobiology , magnetohydrodynamics , wing , shock wave , quantum mechanics , thermodynamics
With a newly developed technique and magnetic field measurements obtained by the magnetometer on Venus Express, we study the flapping motion of the Venusian magnetotail. We find that the flapping motion generally comprises contributions both from a nonpropagating steady flapping and a propagating kink‐like flapping. The flapping motion tilts the current sheet normal significantly in the plane perpendicular to the Venus‐Sun line. The kink‐like flapping waves traveling along solar wind electric field or its antidirection can be found in either magnetotail hemisphere where solar wind electric field pointing toward/away. The traveling behaviors suggest that the locations of the triggers for kink‐like flappings are near the boundaries between magnetotail current sheet and magnetosheath, not near the central region of magnetotail as is for the Earth's magnetotail.