The hot plasma and radiation environment of the Uranian magnetosphere.

We report on the hot plasma and particle radiation environment of the magnetosphere of Uranus as diagnosed with the Low Energy Charged Particle (LECP) investigation on the Voyager 2 spacecraft (measuring electrons and ions with energies >~ 22 KeV and >~ 28 KeV, respectively). The encounter of the inbound bow shock (at ~ 24 R sub U; 1 R sub U = 25, 600 km) was immediately preceded (~ 30 to 24 R sub U) with intense upstream proton events characterized with bulk streaming pointing approximately tangential to the magnetospheric boundaries (flowing away from the magnetospheric "nose" regions). Just inside a somewhat disturbed magnetopause, convective boundary layer flows were observed. Inside the magnetosphere proper the higher (>~ 200 KeV) energy particle channels show dramatic evidence of losses associated with the planetary satellites. The positions of "flux minima" signatures within the electron channels are reasonably well ordered (but not exactly) by the predicted minimum L-shell positions of the satellites.