In the nightside Jovian magnetosphere, Voyager 1 and 2 detected signatures of reconnection. The anti-sunward streaming events, recognized and designated as magnetospheric winds by Krimigis et al., were clearly associated with the northward inclination of the magnetic field. The reconnection is likely to be due to the need to adjust the length of the extended nightside field lines to the dimension of the dayside magnetosphere, but it is not a steady-state feature and shows considerable variability. In addition to these events, there were numerous occasions where northward and southward field polarities were mixed at the neutral sheet. These later events were observed by Voyager 2 beyond about 80 RJ where the observed filed across the neutral sheet exceeded the dipole field strength, and they probably represent the product of the tearing mode. |