COMPARISON OF THE MEAN PHOTOSPHERIC MAGNETIC FIELD AND THE INTERPLANETARY MAGNETIC FIELD,

Abstract

The mean photospheric magnetic field of the sun seen as a star has been compared with the interplanetary magnetic field observed with spacecraft near the earth. Each change in polarity of the mean solar field is followed about 4 1/2 days later by a change in polarity of the interplanetary field (sector boundary). The scaling of the field magnitude from sun to near earth is within a factor of two of the theoretical value, indicating that large areas on the sun have the same predominant polarity as that of the interplanetary sector pattern. An independent determination of the accuracy of the solar magnetograph has yielded a value of 0.1 plus or minus 0.05 gauss. An effect attributed to a delay of approximately one solar rotation between the appearance of a new photospheric magnetic feature and the resulting change in the interplanetary field is observed. The present results appear to be consistent with previous investigations. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 05, 1970
Accession Number
AD0709073

Entities

People

  • A. Severny
  • D. S. Colburn
  • J. M. Wilcox
  • P. H. Scherrer

Organizations

  • University of California, Berkeley

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Boundaries
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Polarity
  • Rotation
  • Spacecraft

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Plasma Physics / Magnetohydrodynamics
  • Solar Physics

Technology Areas

  • Space