Search Publications
Solar wind plasma entry observed by cluster in the high-latitude magnetospheric lobes
Dunlop, M. W.; Facskó, G.; Sun, W. J. +10 more
Using the Cluster data during the period from January to April between 2001 and 2006, we find an observation of solar wind entry due to magnetic reconnection occurred in the terrestrial high-latitude magnetospheric lobes, tailward of the cusps under northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). Occurrence rate of solar wind entry events in this s…
A statistical study of magnetospheric electron density using the Cluster spacecraft
Dandouras, I.; Sandhu, J. K.; Yeoman, T. K. +1 more
Observations from the WHISPER (Waves of High frequency and Sounder for Probing of Electron density by Relaxation) instrument on board Cluster, for the interval spanning 2001-2012, are utilized to determine an empirical model describing the total electron density along closed geomagnetic field lines. The model, representing field lines in the regio…
The particle carriers of field-aligned currents in the Earth's magnetotail during a substorm
Dandouras, I.; Kistler, L. M.; Dunlop, M. +4 more
Although the particle carriers of field-aligned currents (FACs) in the Earth's magnetotail play an important role in the transfer of momentum and energy between the solar wind, magnetosphere, and ionosphere, the characteristics of the FAC carriers have been poorly understood. Taking advantage of multiinstrument magnetic field and plasma data colle…
Suprathermal electron penetration into the inner magnetosphere of Saturn
Lewis, G. R.; Coates, A. J.; Thomsen, M. F. +3 more
For most Cassini passes through the inner magnetosphere of Saturn, the hot electron population (> few hundred eVs) largely disappears inside of some cutoff L shell. Anode-and-actuation-angle averages of hot electron fluxes observed by the Cassini Electron Spectrometer are binned into 0.1 Rs bins in dipole L to explore the properties …
Where and when does reconnection occur in the tail?
McPherron, Robert L.
We comment on the question of when and where reconnection begins in the tail and how it is related to the onset of auroral expansion. This question was addressed in a workshop dedicated to Unsolved Problems in Magnetospheric Physics held in Scarborough, UK, in September 2015. The answer is that it typically occurs first in the midtail a little bey…
Comparative ionospheric impacts and solar origins of nine strong geomagnetic storms in 2010-2015
Wood, Brian E.; Wang, Yi-Ming; Lean, Judith L. +1 more
For nine of the strongest geomagnetic storms in solar cycle 24 we characterize, quantify, and compare the impacts on ionospheric total electron content (TEC) and the U.S. Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) with the heliospheric morphology and kinematics of the responsible coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and their solar source regions. Regional TEC…
Longitudinal and local time asymmetries of magnetospheric turbulence in Saturn's plasma sheet
Saur, Joachim; von Papen, Michael
Based on earlier studies that have shown Saturn's middle magnetosphere to contain turbulent magnetic field fluctuations, we analyze the spatial and temporal variations of the magnetic fluctuations and turbulent heating rate as a function of local time and magnetic phase. The region of study is Saturn's plasma sheet at a distance of 6-20 Rs
Scattering characteristics and imaging of energetic neutral atoms from the Moon in the terrestrial magnetosheath
Barabash, Stas; Futaana, Yoshifumi; Wieser, Martin +6 more
We study hydrogen energetic neutral atom (ENA) emissions from the lunar surface, when the Moon is inside the terrestrial magnetosheath. The ENAs are generated by neutralization and backscattering of incident protons of solar wind origin. First, we model the effect of the increased ion temperature in the magnetosheath (>10 times larger than that…
A sequence of flux transfer events potentially generated by different generation mechanisms
Fazakerley, A. N.; Fear, R. C.; Trattner, K. J. +2 more
Flux transfer events (FTEs) are magnetic structures generated by time-varying reconnection at the dayside magnetopause. Understanding their generation mechanism is important, because it is necessary in order to understand the global contribution of FTEs to the convection process. We present observations of several FTEs sequentially observed by Clu…
Van Allen Probes, THEMIS, GOES, and Cluster observations of EMIC waves, ULF pulsations, and an electron flux dropout
Green, J. C.; Santolík, O.; Carr, C. +9 more
We examined an electron flux dropout during the 12-14 November 2012 geomagnetic storm using observations from seven spacecraft: the two Van Allen Probes, Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS)-A (P5), Cluster 2, and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) 13, 14, and 15. The electron fluxes f…