Physics of the Jovian Magnetosphere

Cambridge Planetary Science Old

by A.J. Dessler (Editor)

Jupiter's magnetosphere (the region of space in which Jupiter's magnetic field influences the motion of charged particles) is the largest object in the solar system; it exhibits new phenomena and behaves, in some respects, like a pulsar. It is a magnetosphere whose physics is dominated by internal sources of plasma and energy. This book consists of twelve carefully interwoven articles written by leading space scientists who summarize our state of knowledge of the physics of the magnetosphere surrounding the planet Jupiter. Ground-based data as well as information from the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft are used in developing both physical descriptions and theoretical understanding. Physics of the Jovian Magnetosphere is a valuable reference work for those doing research in magnetospheric physics and in a number of related disciplines.

564 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't read every page of this book, or even close to it, but the chapters that I was interested in were good and avoided a pitfall that this type of text often falls into. By "this type of text" I mean one where each chapter is written by a different author under the general editorship of one or more persons. Frequently such books end up a collection of independent review articles that act neither as a coherent introduction to the subject, nor as a unified whole, often containing repetition of material, omission of important material or explanations that aren't in any coherent order.

So this book avoids all that by proper cross-referencing and good editorship - i.e. making the individual authors work in conjunction with each other, sharing drafts and devoting exceptional effort to the project.

Good job, all involved!

If you are interested in this subject and have a decent background regarding Earth's magnetosphere, I recommend starting with this book.