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A note on the location of the stagnation point in the magnetosheath flowWhile observational and theoretical investigations have clearly indicated that the shape of the magnetosphere is very nearly symmetric about the plane determined by the aberrated solar wind flow direction and the earth's magnetic dipole, many processes such as magnetic pulsations and geomagnetic activity which should be shape dependent do not exhibit symmetry about this plane. The present paper proposes a solution to this apparent paradox in terms of the shifting of the stagnation point in the magnetosheath flow. It is shown that the interplanetary magnetic field can act to shift the stagnation point on the order of 15 deg from the nose towards dawn during periods of low Alfven Mach number without an appreciable aberration of the magnetopause, accounting for the observations of pulsation demarcation and magnetic reconnection.
Document ID
19810064688
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Russell, C. T.
(California Univ. Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Zhuang, H.-C.
(California Univ. Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Walker, R. J.
(California, University Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 11, 2013
Publication Date
September 1, 1981
Publication Information
Publication: Geophysical Research Letters
Volume: 8
Subject Category
Geophysics
Accession Number
81A49092
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS5-25772
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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