Magnetic field draping around Mars: Mars Global Surveyor results Original Research Article

We investigate the contribution of the radial component of the magnetic field in the solar wind interaction with Mars. We use Mars Global Surveyor Magnetometer and Electron Reflectometer data during the Science Phasing Orbits to gain a qualitative understanding of the magnitude of the radial magnetic field from the solar wind draping around the dayside of Mars. Using only data far away from the strong crustal magnetic sources, we find that the angle the magnetic field makes to the horizontal within the martian ionosphere has an average closer to zero than that outside the ionosphere. However, we find a much larger spread in angles inside the ionosphere. In addition, we find that the angle of inclination increases with increasing altitude and local time, but more spatial coverage is needed to quantify these relationships.