Evidence for a distant (>8,700 RJ) Jovian magnetotail: Voyager 2 observations

A correlative survey of Magnetometer (MAG) and Planetary Radio Astronomy (PRA) 1.2 kHz continuum radiation measurements from Voyager 2 provide evidence for at least eight distant Jovian magnetotail sightings occurring about once a month over the first 2/3 of 1981 at distances of ∼ 5,000 to ∼ 9,000 R_J. The occurrences of these events are in good agreement with prior Plasma Wave Science and Plasma Science identifications. Observations of these distant magnetotail, or tail filament, encounters appear most prevalent in both MAG and PRA data sets when the spacecraft was closest to the Jupiter-Sun axis at ≃ 6,500 R_J from the planet; the PRA events are also most intense during those times. A specific tail encounter occurring in mid-February 1981 is analyzed and shown to possess a remarkably symmetric structure in its central region. Tail bipolarity is characteristic of most of the eight events.