Oct 18 1995
From The Space Library
NASA physicists have assembled the first view of the spiral structure of our solar system's magnetic field. The aerial photo of the interplanetary magnetic field became possible as Ulysses flew over the south pole of the Sun in 1994. The method involved tracking the bright spots of radio waves excited by moving electrons ejected from the Sun at speeds over 62,100 miles per second. Such spots are caused by solar flares or other explosive events on the Sun. The travel of electrons is constrained to the large-scale magnetic field lines, much as cars follow roads. A chart of the received radio emissions shows they follow the expected spiral shape, even including kinks due to variations in solar wind speed. At these high speeds, the whole path takes about 20 minutes to Earth's orbit. (NASA Release 95-185; W Post, Oct 23/95)
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