Hemispheric asymmetry in the near‐Venusian magnetotail during solar maximum

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Abstract
During solar minimum the near‐Venusian magnetotail exhibits a hemispheric asymmetry in the cross‐tail field distribution. It implies that the magnetic field lines in the −E hemisphere are wrapped more tightly around Venus than in the +E hemisphere. Therefore, a strong field reversal region occurs in the magnetotail, which is prone to the magnetic reconnection. Since the Venus magnetotail is formed due to the solar wind interaction with the ionosphere and the ionosphere is modulated by the solar activity, it is interesting to study the solar cycle dependence of the induced magnetosphere. Here we statistically examine the Venus Express magnetotail data during solar maximum. We find that the magnetic field configuration asymmetry in Venus magnetotail is very much similar to that during solar minimum. The hemispheric asymmetry in the magnetotail persists through the whole solar cycle and magnetic reconnection in the near‐Venusian magnetotail might occur during solar minimum as well as solar maximum conditions.
Funding Information
  • NSFC (41574173, 41121003)

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