Science. 1965 Feb 26;147(3661):991-1000. doi: 10.1126/science.147.3661.991.
The brief period between the conception of the interplanetary magnetic field and conclusive proof of its existence has been an exciting one. Imaginative theoretical developments and careful experimental verification have both been essential to rapid progress. From the various lines of evidence described here it is clear that an interplanetary magnetic field is always present, drawn out from the sun by the radially streaming solar wind. The field is stretched into a spiral pattern by the sun's rotation. The field appears to consist of relatively narrow filaments, the fields of adjacent filaments having opposite directions. At the earth's orbit the field points slightly below the ecliptic plane. The magnitude of the field is steady and near 5 gammas in quiet times, but it may rise to higher values at times of higher solar activity. A collision-free shock front is formed in the plasma flow around the earth. In the transition region between the shock front and the magnetopause the magnitude of the field is somewhat higher than it is in the interplanetary region, and large fluctuations in magnitude and direction are common. A shock front has also been observed in space between a slowly moving body of plasma and a faster, overtaking plasma stream.
行星际磁场的概念提出到最终被证实存在的这一短暂时期是激动人心的。富有想象力的理论发展和精心的实验验证对于快速进展都是必不可少的。从这里描述的各种证据来看，一个行星际磁场总是存在的，它是由径向流动的太阳风从太阳中抽出的。磁场被太阳的自转拉伸成螺旋形图案。磁场似乎由相对较窄的细丝组成，相邻细丝的场具有相反的方向。在地球轨道上，磁场略微指向黄道面以下。在安静时期，场强稳定且接近 5 伽马，但在太阳活动较高时，场强可能会升高。在等离子体绕地球流动的过程中形成了一个无碰撞的激波前沿。在激波前沿和磁层顶之间的过渡区域，磁场的强度比行星际区域略高，并且大小和方向的大波动很常见。在一个缓慢移动的等离子体体和一个更快、超越的等离子体流之间的空间中，也观察到了激波前沿。
