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Measuring the stress state of the Saturnian magnetosphere
Author(s) -
Leisner J. S.,
Russell C. T.,
Khurana K. K.,
Dougherty M. K.
Publication year - 2007
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 - 10.1029/2007gl029315
Subject(s) - magnetosphere , physics , magnetosphere of jupiter , solar wind , magnetometer , magnetosphere of saturn , geophysics , mercury's magnetic field , saturn , magnetic field , astronomy , planet , interplanetary magnetic field , magnetopause , quantum mechanics
The dynamics of a planetary magnetosphere can be quantified by subtracting the system's “ground” state from the observed state and tracking their difference. When a magnetosphere is stressed, by external and internal forces, the magnetic field lines become stretched or compressed. In this paper, we construct an index of the stress state of the Saturnian magnetosphere using magnetometer measurements made in the equatorial inner magnetosphere. This index is analogous to the Dst index produced for Earth's magnetosphere and a stress index created for Jupiter from the Galileo magnetometer data. This index identifies infrequent large perturbations of the magnetosphere from its ground state, and the smaller deviations that are consistent in duration and magnitude with those expected from pressure variations in the solar wind.