Jump to content

User:Pdeitiker/Magsat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Citation bot (talk | contribs) at 13:36, 2 August 2023 (Add: date. Removed parameters. Some additions/deletions were parameter name changes. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | #UCB_CommandLine). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.

(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Illustration of the Magsat satellite

Magsat (Magnetic Field Satellite, Explorer 61, Applications Explorer Mission-3 or AEM-3) spacecraft was launched on October 30, 1979.[1] The mission was to map the magnetic field close to the Earth, the satellite has two magnetometers. The scalar (a Cesium vapor) and vector (fluxgate) magnetometers gave Magsat a capability beyond that of any previous spacecraft. Extended by a telescoping boom, the magnetometers device were distanced from the magnetic field created by the satellite and its instruments. The satellite carried two magnetometers, a three-axis fluxgate magnetometer for determining the strength and direction of magnetic fields, and a ion-vapor/vector magnetometer for determining the magnetic field caused by the vector magnetometer itself.[2]

Modeled Earth magnetic fields, data created by satellites with sensitive magnetometers

Magnetic_Field_Earth.png After launch the payload was brought to an orbit of 96.8 facing the sun as the earth rotated underneath. It was kept in a close earth orbit, with vector magnetometers capable of sensing magnetic fields closer to earths surface. The data collected by this satellite allowed a 3D-mapping of the earths magnetic interior as never seen before. In combination with a later satellite is has been an essential component for explaining the current declining state of the Earth's magnetic field.[3]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Langel R, Ousley G, Berbert J, Murphy J, and Settle M. The MAGSAT Mission. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 9, NO. 4, PAGES 243–245, 1982
  2. ^ http://www-ssc.igpp.ucla.edu/personnel/russell/ESS265/History.html History of Vector Magnetometers in Space]
  3. ^ Goel SC, Jurand A (October 1975). "Electron microscopic studies on chick limb cartilage differentiated in tissue culture". J Embryol Exp Morphol. 34 (2): 327–37. PMID 1194834.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)