Abstract Even though magnetic field and plasma in-situ measurements near Mars from the 1989 PHOBOS-2 project and from earlier missions are available, the existence of an Martian intrinsic magnetic field is still controversial. In this study we analyze data of the PHOBOS-2 magnetic field experiments MAGMA and FGMM and use the upstream solar wind parameters of the TAUS and ASPERA experiments. Different methods are used to investigate the influence of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and of a possible weak intrinsic field on the solar wind interaction with Mars : The compressibility of plasma boundaries, the correlation between upstream IMF and tail properties and between magnetic field structures and planetary rotation. The study shows that the magnetic field in the tail is strongly correlated with the upstream IMF suggesting that the Martian magnetotail is induced, at least to a large extent. Compressibility studies reveal a weak dependence of the plasma boundaries on the solar wind dynamic pressure but the bow shock location appears to be not affected by the Martian longitude within the accuracy of our measurements. We conclude that an intrinsic planetary field, if it exists, does not play a major role in the interaction between the solar wind and Mars.
The Martian magnetic field environment: Induced or dominated by an intrinsic magnetic field?
Advances in Space Research ; 12 , 9 ; 213-219
1992-01-01
7 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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