Incredible Research on the New Horizon Brings Insight to IMF on Pluto
The Journal of Geophysical Research published research on the New Horizon mission and magnetic fields. Since there was no magnetometer on the New Horizons mission to Pluto, there was no way to truly detect the magnetic radiation of Pluto [1]. During the flyby, this was called IMF (Interplanetary Magnetic Field) [1]. Three factors were determined to be affected by Pluto’s IMF energy. The first was the mass of ionization in Pluto’s atmosphere. Second was the energy of heavy ions [1]. The final factor was the level of thermal radiation towards the New Horizons flyby [1]. Models were used to simulate these factors and interpret the possible magnetic field strength of Pluto [1]. In addition, interstellar pickup ions were necessary to be taken in consideration [1]. That is because solar radiation is to be taken account for when inferring the IMF of a planet [2].
This entire study of the New Horizon mission can be understood using knowledge of solar winds/magnetic fields. We know about the large scale gravitational and atmospheric effects caused by Earth's magnetic field already. It can be applied to an exoplanet like Pluto as well. A staunch comparison can be made between magnetic fields since Pluto’s IMF was interpreted as roughly ~0.1 nT [1]. A planetary magnetic field is caused by convection of interior matter against the force of the planetary rotation. The higher the rotation speed; the higher the magnetic field. What is being determined in this research is the Interplanetary Magnetic Field. This is the total strength of the magnetic field as a number which combines all polar directions, including the direction of solar winds towards the planet [2]. The notation of nT is nano-Tesla and since the interpretation here was 0.1 [2]. That is quite weak considering the fact that 10 nT is a only a moderately strong magnetic field [2].
References
[1] Barnes, N. P., Delamere, P. A., Strobel, D. F., Bagenal, F., McComas, D. J., Elliott, H. A., … Stern, S. A. (2019). Constraining the IMF at Pluto Using New Horizons SWAP Data and Hybrid Simulations. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 124(3), 1568–1581. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JA026083
[2] The Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF): Help. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2019, from https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/help/the-interplanetary-magnetic-field-imf.