Complexity Digest 2004.12 - 13.01
22-Mar-2004
Cause Of Uranus' And Neptune's Unusual Magnetic Fields, Nature
Excerpt: The discovery of Uranus' and Neptune's non-dipolar, non-axisymmetric magnetic fields destroyed the picture-established by Earth, Jupiter and Saturn-that planetary magnetic fields are dominated by axial dipoles. Although various explanations for these unusual fields have been proposed, the cause of such field morphologies remains unexplained. Planetary magnetic fields are generated by complex fluid motions in electrically conducting regions of the planets (a process known as dynamo action), and so are intimately linked to the structure and evolution of planetary interiors.
- Source: Cause Of Uranus' And Neptune's Unusual Magnetic Fields
[ http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v428/n6979/abs/nature02376_fs.html ], Sabine Stanley, Jeremy Bloxham, DOI: 10.1038/nature02376, Nature 428, 151 - 153, 04/03/11