The galilean satellites and the Jovian magnetic field

Alfvén and Arrhenius have proposed that satellites may form from the condensation of plasma suspended in the dipole magnetic field of a central body. Further, they predict that the condensed material will appear at an orbit distance of two-thirds the distance of the plasma. Recent spacecraft measurements have defined the radial extent of the stable quasi-dipole Jovian magnetic field. In support of the Alfvén and Arrhenius hypothesis, we note that all the Galilean satellites lie within two-thirds of this distance.Paper dedicated to Professor Hannes Alfvén on the occasion of his 70th birthday, 30 May 1978.