Magnetopause rotational forms

Abstract

Magnetic field data from the Goddard Space Flight Center magnetometer experiment on board Ogo 5 are analyzed by the minimum variance technique for two magnetopause crossings, believed to provide the best evidence presently available of magnetopause rotational discontinuities. Approximate agreement with predictions from MHD and first-order orbit theory is found, but available low-energy electron data suggest the presence of significant non-MHD effects. The paper also illustrates an improved method for data interval selection, a new magnetopause hodogram representation, and the utility of data simulation.