In this work we developed a method to obtain a time series named as AE* which is well correlated with the geomagnetic AE index. In this process, wavelet filtering is applied to interplanetary solar wind data from spacecrafts around the L1 libration point. This geomagnetic indicator AE* can be obtained well before the AE index release in its final form, and it can be used to feed models for geomagnetic effects, such as the relativistic electrons, giving forecasts ~ 1 to 2 days in advance.

A preliminary estimate of the drag force per unit mass on typical low-Earth-orbiting satellites moving through the ionosphere during Carrington-type super magnetic storms is calculated by a simple first-order model which takes into account the ion-neutral drag between the upward-moving oxygen ions and O neutral atoms. It is shown that oxygen ions and atoms can be uplifted to 850 km altitude, where they produce about 40 times more satellite drag per unit mass than normal.

The behaviour of mirror mode waves in Venus's magnetosheath is investigated for solar minimum and maximum conditions. It is shown that the total observational rate of these waves does not change much; however, the distribution over the magnetosheath is significantly different, as well as the growth and decay of the waves during these different solar activity conditions.

We have analysed the magnetic field measurements performed on the ROSETTA orbiter and the lander PHILAE during PHILAE's descent to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 12 November 2014. We observed a new type of low-frequency wave with amplitudes of ~ 3 nT, frequencies of 20–50 mHz, wavelengths of ~ 300 km, and propagation velocities of ~ 6 km s⁻¹. The waves are generated in a ~ 100 km region around the comet a show a highly correlated behaviour, which could only be determined by two-point observations.

The solar wind magnetic field drapes around the active nucleus of comet 67P/CG, creating a magnetosphere. The solar wind density increases and with that the pressure, which compresses the magnetosphere, increasing the magnetic field strength near Rosetta. The higher solar wind density also creates more ionization through collisions with the gas from the comet. The new ions are picked-up by the magnetic field and generate mirror-mode waves, creating low-field high-density "bottles" near 67P/CG.

We present a first report on magnetic field measurements made in the coma of comet 67P/C-G in its low-activity state. The plasma environment is dominated by quasi-coherent, large-amplitude, compressional magnetic field oscillations around 40mHz, differing from the observations at strongly active comets where waves at the cometary ion gyro-frequencies are the main feature. We propose a cross-field current instability associated with the newborn cometary ions as a possible source mechanism.

Particularly intense substorms (SSS), brilliant auroral displays with strong >106A currents in the ionosphere, are studied. It is believed that these SSS events cause power outages during magnetic storms. It is shown that SSS events can occur during all intensity magnetic storms; thus power problems are not necessarily restricted to the rare most intense storms. We show four SSS events that are triggered by solar wind pressure pulses. If this is typical, ~30-minute warnings could be issued.