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Re: magnetic field lines like these?



Thaks, William, for providing an explanation of the terrestial magnetic
dynamo. I will have to think more about it.
.............................................................

If you have access to "New Solar System" (a compilation of articles, edited
by Beatty and Chaikin, 1990, third edition) you may find an article written
by James A. Van Allen. Page 38 shows "a schematic diagram of the magnetic
field of Uranus as observed by Voyager 2". The magnetic axis is at 58.6
degrees with respect to the axis of rotation. The two axes cross far away
from the center of the planet (the offset is 30% of the radius).

Another "crazy" thing about Uranus is that its rotational axis is nearly
parallel (about 10 degrees) with respect to the plane of the orbit. For
planets closer to the Sun the rotational axes are nearly perpendicular to
orbits.
..................................................................
By the way, does anybody know the e-mail address of Van Allen? I want to
ask him a question about the magnetic field line on page 31 (Figure 4).
The question was already posted here (under the "magnetic lines like
these?" thread), but nobody responded. What is the nature of the blue
sheet of current? Presumably it is responsible for a long thin magnetic
field loop stretching as far away from the Sun as 100 AU? Does anybody
know the answer?
Ludwik Kowalski kowalskiL@alpha.montclair.edu