Overshoots in planetary bow shocks

It is shown here that an overshoot in the magnitude of the magnetic field is a consistent feature of supercritical collisionless shocks, Mach number >approximately equal to 3, throughout the Solar System. Combined planetary data show that the planetary bow shocks, at least as characterized by their overshoots, form part of a continuum, differences being dependent mainly on the varying solar wind conditions at each of the planets. The overshoot magnitude is found to increase both with β and magnetosonic Mach number which causes the overshoot in the jovian and saturnian bow shocks to be much greater than in the terrestrial shock. (U.K.)