Earth
Sun
ID: 10623
Substorms send jets of plasma careening Earthward at speeds near 600,000 miles/hour. Researchers comparing multipoint THEMIS spacecraft observations with the predictions of numerical simulations have determined the width of one such jet and determined what happened to it when it encountered the strong magnetic fields within the inner magnetosphere. Plasma jets with the width of the Earth slam into the inner magnetosphere, generating vortices with opposite senses of rotation that appear and disappear on either side of the plasma jet. These vortices become sources of field-aligned electrical currents that flow down to the Earth's ionosphere, where they generate auroral brightenings and intense magnetic field disturbances. After striking the inner magnetospheric magnetic field, the plasma jet itself bounces back and forth, losing energy each time it encounters the magnetic field, and continuing to oscillate until the flow energy is dissipated in the form of plasma heating.
Rebounding Plasma Flows in the Inner Magnetosphere
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Credits
Walt Feimer (HTSI): Lead Animator
Scott Wiessinger (UMBC): Producer
David G. Sibeck (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Scott Wiessinger (UMBC): Producer
David G. Sibeck (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10623
Mission:
THEMIS
Keywords:
SVS >> Earth
SVS >> HDTV
SVS >> Magnetic Reconnection
SVS >> Magnetosphere
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Sun-earth Interactions >> Solar Activity >> Solar Events
SVS >> THEMIS
NASA Science >> Earth
NASA Science >> Sun
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Sun-earth Interactions >> Ionosphere/Magnetosphere Dynamics >> Aurorae
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Sun-earth Interactions >> Solar Activity >> Coronal Mass Ejections
GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10623
Mission:
THEMIS
Keywords:
SVS >> Earth
SVS >> HDTV
SVS >> Magnetic Reconnection
SVS >> Magnetosphere
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Sun-earth Interactions >> Solar Activity >> Solar Events
SVS >> THEMIS
NASA Science >> Earth
NASA Science >> Sun
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Sun-earth Interactions >> Ionosphere/Magnetosphere Dynamics >> Aurorae
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Sun-earth Interactions >> Solar Activity >> Coronal Mass Ejections
GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0
