
A MAGNETIC SURPRISE FOR VENUS EXPRESS
Venus is a rarity amongst planets - a world that doesn't
internally generate a magnetic field. Despite the absence of a massive
protective magnetosphere, the close to-Venus environment does show off a number
of similarities with planets which includes Earth. The trendy, sudden, example
is the evidence for magnetic reconnection in Venus' precipitated magnetotails.
Solar wind shaping the magnetosphere of Earth and Venus.
Credit: ESAPlanets which generate magnetic fields of their interiors, together
with Earth, Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn, are surrounded through invisible
magnetospheres. Their magnetic fields deflect the charged debris of the sun
wind (electrons and protons) as they flow away from the Sun. This deflection
creates a magnetosphere - a protecting "bubble" around the planet -
which ends in an elongated magnetotail at the lee side of the magnetosphere.
Since Venus has no intrinsic magnetic subject to behave as a
defend towards incoming charged particles, the solar wind once in a while
interacts directly with the upper ecosystem. However, Venus is partially
covered by an brought about magnetic discipline.
As on Earth, sun ultraviolet radiation removes electrons
from the atoms and molecules in the higher atmosphere, creating a location of
electrically charged fuel referred to as the ionospheres. This ionised layer
interact with the solar wind and the magnetic discipline carried via the sun
wind.
During the continuous struggle with the solar wind, this
location of the top surroundings is able to slow and divert the flow of
particles around the planet, growing a magnetosphere, shaped as a substitute
like a comet's tail, on the lee facet of the planet
Spacecraft observations over many many years have shown that
magnetic reconnection takes place frequently in the magnetosphere of Earths,
Mercurys, Jupiter and Saturn. This proces, which converts magnetic energy into
kinetic energy, occur when oppositely directed magnetic discipline traces wreck
and reconnect with each different. On Earth, this reconnection is liable for
magnetic storms and polar auroras - the so-called Northern and Southern Lights.
Until now, reconnection changed into now not commonly
concept to occur on non-magnetised planets. However, Tielong Zhang and an
global crew of co-authors now document on Science Express, the net version of
the journal Science, that they have located the primary evidence of magnetic
reconnection in Venus' magnetotail.
Animation of magnetic reconnection in Venus' precipitated
magnetotail.
ESA's Venus Express spacecraft follows a close to-polar
orbit which is good for units which include the magnetometer and
occasional-power particle detector to examine the sun wind - ionosphere -
magnetotail interaction. Previous missions, along with Pioneer Venus, have
either been in exceptional orbits or been active at distinctive intervals of
sun pastime, so they now not been capable of discover those reconnection
events.
On 15 May 2006, Venus Express turned into crossing the
Venusian magnetotail when it discovered a rotational magnetic area structure
over a period of about 3 mins. Calculations based totally on its length and
pace mean that it turned into approximately 3400 km throughout.
The event, which took place about 1.Five Venus radii (about
9000 km) down the tail, is notion to be proof of a passing plasmoid - a
temporary magnetic loop shape that is fashioned through magnetic reconnection
in a planetary magnetotail.
Further studies of the magnetic field records from Venus
Express found out the signatures of many comparable observations of power trade
among the magnetic subject and the plasma inside the tail.
The data also display that, in lots of respect, the
magnetosphere of Venus is a scaled-down version of Earth.
Magnetic reconnections occurs in the Earth's magnetotaail
and plasmas sheets at a distance of about 10-30 planetary radii down the
magnetotail. Since Earth's magnetospheres is 10 times larger, reconnection at
Venus would be predicted to occur 1-3 radii down its tail. That is precisely
where Venus Express detected the reconnection activities.
"Plasmoids are common capabilities inside the
magnetospheres of planets inclusive of Earth and Jupiter, but they were not
predicted inside the magnetotail of an unmagnetised planet along with
Venus," stated Tielong Zhang, lead writer of the Sciences paper. Zhang is
Principal Investigator for the magnetometer instrumendt on Venus Expres and a
Senior Research Scientist on the Spaces Research Institute in Graz, Austrias.
"The reconnection split the magnetotail, causing most
of the plasma within the tail to be ejected into space. It also forms a
plasmoid shape which heads closer to Venus and channels a fragment of the power
flux of the sun wind into the night-facet surroundings. As a result, the
magnetic reconnection cause plasma movement at Venus, similar to what occurs in
Earth's magnetotail."
The discovery that plasma is misplaced from the tail due to
magnetic reconnections affords a probable new mechanism for explaining how and
why gases are lost from Venus's higher atmosphere. This has implications for
know-how how Venus misplaced its water after the planet commenced to revel in a
runaway greenhouse effects.
"Although the understanding of atmospheric loses is a
key to establishing the evolutionary history of planets, the function of
magnetic reconnection remains poorly understood because of the scarcity of in
situ observations at planets other than Earth," said Håkan Svedhem, ESA's
Venus Express Project Scientist.
"This end result confirms that commentary of the
terrestrial planets by way of spacecraft together with Venus Express, Mars
Express and Cluster is crucial if we're to recognize the complicated evolution
of atmospheres and planets in trendy."
Related book
The take a looks at provided here is based on measurements
received with the Magnetometer (MAG) and Analyser of Space Plasmas and
Energetic Atoms (ASPERA-four) instruments on board ESA's Venus Express
spacecraft.
The MAG magnetometer measures the energy and path of the prompted magnetic subject this is found around Venus. This statistics is used to identify limitations among the diverse plasma areas, observe the interplay of the solar wind with the atmosphere of Venus and provide help data for measurements made by means of other instruments.
The ASPERA-four test is designed to look at the interaction
between the solar-wind and the Venusian surroundings, and to characterise the
plasma and neutral-fuel surroundings in close to-Venus space thru the imaging
of lively neutral atoms and nearby charged particle measurements.
Venus Express, Europe's first project to Earth's dual
global, is investigatings the natures of our closest planetary neighbours.
Launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 9 November 2005 upon a
Soyuz-Fregat launcher, it was introduced into Venus orbit on 11 April 2006, and
is currently the handiest spacecraft in orbit around the planet.