Characteristics of the region of interaction between the interplanetary plasma and the geomagnetic field: Pioneer 5

Measurements of the magnetic fields in the distant geomagnetic cavity and in the region of interaction between the solar wind and the magnetosphere are described. These measurements were obtained on March 11, 1960, with instruments aboard the interplanetary probe Pioneer 5 in the region between 5.2 and 15.4 Re and between 1500 and 1700 local time. The observations obtained between 5.2 and 15.4 Re are found to be consistent with a geomagnetic boundary region that exhibits an enhanced field just inside the geomagnetic cavity, and beyond the cavity, exhibits a region of disordered fields in which both the mean field and the amplitude of the field variations decrease with increasing geocentric distance. Evidence for the extension of an interaction region to at least 25.6 Re along the spacecraft trajectory on the day of the launch is presented. The observations are compared with two models for this interaction region.

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