학술논문

A Magnetic Signature at Io: Initial Report from the Galileo Magnetometer
Document Type
research-article
Source
Science, 1996 Jul . 273(5273), 337-340.
Subject
Magnetic fields
Galilean satellites
Jupiter
Plasma currents
Ionospheric currents
Spacecraft
Plasma interactions
Trajectories
Rotating generators
Ions
Language
English
ISSN
00368075
10959203
Abstract
During the inbound pass of the Galileo spacecraft, the magnetometer acquired 1 minute averaged measurements of the magnetic field along the trajectory as the spacecraft flew by lo. A field decrease, of nearly 40 percent of the background jovian field at closest approach to lo, was recorded. Plasma sources alone appear incapable of generating perturbations as large as those observed and an induced source for the observed moment implies an amount of free iron in the mantle much greater than expected. On the other hand, an intrinsic magnetic field of amplitude consistent with dynamo action at lo would explain the observations. It seems plausible that lo, like Earth and Mercury, is a magnetized solid planet.