Studying the Planets' Magnetic Fields with MHD

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Jun 1, 2001

The last couple of weeks have taken us into magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) land, with a quick look at what MHD is and some of the cutting-edge simulation codes which make use of it. This week, we'll start moving back toward space simulation by touching on an example problem which is being studied with MHD simulation techniques, the study of planets' magnetospheres.

The planets in our solar system can be though of, at their cores, as giant magnets. A planet has magnetic north and south poles, which is why can use a compass to guide our travel. The magnetic field of a planet causes interactions with particles other than just a compass needle, but near the surface, where we live, the force of gravity is the dominating factor shaping our surroundings. As one travels through the atmosphere to the outer reaches of the planet (such as a NASA vessel might), the magnetic forces become more prevalent. This area, where charged particles interact with the planet's magnetic field, is called the magnetosphere. The magnetosphere can be home to some very strange and interesting phenomena, including magnetic structures, radiation belts, and fast streaming particles.

(A nice discussion of magnetism, the Earth's magnetosphere, and other magnetic phenomena can be found at http://www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/... )

Because the magnetosphere of a planet is essentially composed of charged gas particles interacting with each other and a magnetic field, it is a perfect candidate for study by magnetohydrodynamics simulation. In fact, researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) have undertaken just such a project.

Playing off of the Voyager spacecraft's success in gathering data for the large, gaseous planets in the outer reaches of our solar systems, the researchers at UMD have studied the magnetospheres of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune using three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics simulation. The simulations employ time-dependent equations of motion and empirical plasma parameters to produce data which can be used to visualize the magnetosphere of each planet. The visualization was done with AVS, and object-oriented sci viz package that we've discussed in this space before. It is believed that these results can be used as basis points for studying the magnetospheres of other, less accessible astral bodies.

To read more about the UMD simulation studies of the magnetospheres of planets at the edges of the solar system, visit

http://www.avl.umd.edu/projects/outer_pl...

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