Book contents
8 - Plasma interactions with unmagnetized bodies
Summary
When a planet or satellite has a weak internal magnetic field, or none at all, its interaction with a flowing magnetized plasma can be drastically different from the interaction with an Earth-like magnetosphere (see Chapter 7). In this chapter we shall see that such interactions can vary widely, depending on both the size of the body and whether it has a significant atmosphere. In addition, the body may be rocky or icy, and have layers of different composition and hence conductivity. If an atmosphere is present, the obstacle’s characteristics depend on the atmospheric properties.
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- Space PhysicsAn Introduction, pp. 248 - 274Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2016