The Ionospheric Structure on the Nightside of Venus

Venus is the only planet to display large filamentary ion structures on it's night side. The Pioneer Venus Orbiter, PVO, first observed these structures. These structures displayed a variety of characteristics. For the first time global hybrid simulations of the Venusian magnetosphere have also shown these structures, displaying the same characteristics found in the data. This presentation will discuss the past PVO data, present the current simulations and compare the two. In addition, the simulations have offered insight into several of the parameters that control the existence and location of the structure. These topics will be presented along the some thoughts on what the presence of the structure implies and why it is unique to Venus.