Venera-9 magnetic field measurements in the Venus wake provide additional support for the hypothesis that Venus has an intrinsic planetary field. The observed field is in the direction expected for a northward moment, and is similar to that observed in equivalent locations in the terrestrial magnetosphere, both in its temporal and spatial behavior. In particular, Venera -9 appears to have observed a plasma sheet expansion, field-aligned currents, and tail-field dipolarization. |