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Electron observations in the solar wind and magnetosheath
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Electron observations in the solar wind and magnetosheath

J. D Scudder, D. L Lind and K. W Ogilvie
Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol.78(28), pp.6535-6548
10/01/1973
DOI: 10.1029/JA078i028p06535

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Abstract

Observations made by a triaxial electron analyzer on the Ogo 5 spacecraft are presented and discussed. These cover a wide variety of solar‐terrestrial conditions and took place in the interplanetary medium as well as in the magnetosheath. In the interplanetary medium, observations made on bow shock connected lines of magnetic force have been separated from those made on non‐bow‐shock connected lines. In general, sustained differences in temperatures derived from electrons with energies below 95 ev are of the order of a few percent, but at times greater temperature differences are observed. The mean temperature observed is 1.55 ± 0.03 × 105 °K, and the mean temperature anisotropy is 1.18 ± 0.10, in general agreement with earlier work. A period when the plasma became nongyrotropic, associated with a mesoscale interplanetary electron temperature gradient of 8.5 × 105 °K/AU, was observed. Thirty‐four bow shock crossings were observed, indicating mean density and temperature jumps of ≃2.1∶1 and 4.2∶1, respectively. Velocity distribution functions f display a flat‐topped form throughout the dawn part of the magnetosheath, and an asymmetry in f observed there is consistent with an energy flux in the sheath along the spacecraft‐earth direction. Attempts to observe the temperature and density variations predicted by hydromagnetic theory along the spacecraft track in the magnetosheath were inconclusive.

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