Standing collisionless shock upstream of the magnetopause where the supersonic, super-Alfvénic solar wind decelerates to subsonic flow. Magnetosonic Mach number ≈ 8 typical; thermalises ions and accelerates a fraction to 100s keV.
Standing collisionless shock upstream of the magnetopause where the supersonic, super-Alfvénic solar wind decelerates to subsonic flow. Magnetosonic Mach number ≈ 8 typical; thermalises ions and accelerates a fraction to 100s keV.