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Venus‐like interaction of the solar wind with Mars
Author(s) -
Cloutier P. A.,
Law C. C.,
Crider D. H.,
Walker P. W.,
Chen Y.,
Acuña M. H.,
Connerney J. E. P.,
Lin R. P.,
Anderson K. A.,
Mitchell D. L.,
Carlson C. W.,
McFadden J.,
Brain D. A.,
Rème H.,
Mazelle C.,
Sauvaud J. A.,
d'Uston C.,
Vignes D.,
Bauer S. J.,
Ness N. F.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/1999gl900591
Subject(s) - mars exploration program , venus , solar wind , geophysics , bow shock (aerodynamics) , mercury's magnetic field , physics , astrobiology , magnetometer , interplanetary magnetic field , geology , atmosphere of venus , geomagnetic reversal , atmospheric sciences , magnetic field , shock wave , mechanics , quantum mechanics
The magnetometer and electron reflectometer experiment (MAG/ER) on the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft has obtained magnetic field and electron data which indicates that the solar wind interaction with Mars is primarily an ionospheric‐atmospheric interaction similar to that at Venus. However, the global‐scale electric currents and resulting magnetic fields due to the interaction at Mars are locally interrupted or perturbed over distance scales of several hundred kilometers by the effects of paleomagnetic fields due to crustal remanence. In this paper we compare the Mars‐solar wind interaction with the Venus‐solar wind interaction by selecting MGS orbits which do not show significant magnetic perturbations due to crustal magnetic anomalies, and demonstrate that a number of phenomena characteristic of the Venus‐solar wind interaction are also observable at Mars.