Articles | Volume 36, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-36-695-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-36-695-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Plasma flow patterns in and around magnetosheath jets
Ferdinand Plaschke
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute of Physics, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz, Austria
Heli Hietala
Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Niklas Grimmich, Adrian Pöppelwerth, Martin Owain Archer, David Gary Sibeck, Ferdinand Plaschke, Wenli Mo, Vicki Toy-Edens, Drew Lawson Turner, Hyangpyo Kim, and Rumi Nakamura
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The boundary of Earth's magnetic field, the magnetopause, deflects and reacts to the solar wind - the energetic particles emanating from the Sun. We find that certain types of solar wind favour the occurrence of deviations between the magnetopause locations observed by spacecraft and those predicted by models. In addition, the turbulent region in front of the magnetopause, the foreshock, has a large influence on the location of the magnetopause and thus on the accuracy of the model predictions.
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In our study, we looked at the boundary between the Earth's magnetic field and the interplanetary magnetic field emitted by the Sun, called the magnetopause. While other studies focus on the magnetopause motion near Earth's Equator, we have studied it in polar regions. The motion of the magnetopause is faster towards the Earth than towards the Sun. We also found that the occurrence of unusual magnetopause locations is due to similar solar influences in the equatorial and polar regions.
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In the magnetosheath, a near-Earth region of space, we observe increases in plasma velocity and density, so-called jets. As they propagate towards Earth, jets interact with the ambient plasma. We study this interaction with three spacecraft simultaneously to infer their sizes. While previous studies have investigated their size almost exclusively statistically, we demonstrate a new method of determining the sizes of individual jets.
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Ann. Geophys., 42, 117–130, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-42-117-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-42-117-2024, 2024
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The solar wind interacts with the planets in the solar system and creates a supersonic shock in front of them. The upstream region of this shock contains many complicated phenomena. One such phenomenon is small-scale structures of strong magnetic fields (SLAMS). These SLAMS have been observed at Earth and are important in determining the properties of space around the planet. Until now, SLAMS have not been observed at Mercury, but we show for the first time that SLAMS also exist there.
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Ann. Geophys., 41, 449–463, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-41-449-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-41-449-2023, 2023
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The upper detection limit in reciprocal space, the spatial Nyquist limit, is derived for arbitrary spatial dimensions for the wave telescope analysis technique. This is important as future space plasma missions will incorporate larger numbers of spacecraft (>4). Our findings are a key element in planning the spatial distribution of future multi-point spacecraft missions. The wave telescope is a multi-dimensional power spectrum estimator; hence, this can be applied to other fields of research.
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On 15 October 2020, BepiColombo used Venus as a gravity assist to change its orbit to reach Mercury in late 2021. During this passage of Venus, the spacecraft entered into Venus's magnetotail at a distance of 70 Venus radii from the planet. We have studied the magnetic field and plasma data and find that Venus's magnetotail is highly active. This is caused by strong activity in the solar wind, where just before the flyby a coronal mass ejection interacted with the magnetophere of Venus.
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In this work we present the first analytical magnetosheath plasma flow model for the space environment around Mercury. The proposed model is relatively simple to implement and provides the possibility to trace the flow lines inside the Hermean magnetosheath. It can help to determine the the local plasma conditions of a spacecraft in the magnetosheath exclusively on the basis of the upstream solar wind parameters.
Martin Volwerk, David Mautner, Cyril Simon Wedlund, Charlotte Goetz, Ferdinand Plaschke, Tomas Karlsson, Daniel Schmid, Diana Rojas-Castillo, Owen W. Roberts, and Ali Varsani
Ann. Geophys., 39, 239–253, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-239-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-239-2021, 2021
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The magnetic field in the solar wind is not constant but varies in direction and strength. One of these variations shows a strong local reduction of the magnetic field strength and is called a magnetic hole. These holes are usually an indication that there is, or has been, a temperature difference in the plasma of the solar wind, with the temperature along the magnetic field lower than perpendicular. The MMS spacecraft data have been used to study the characteristics of these holes near Earth.
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Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 10, 13–24, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-10-13-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-10-13-2021, 2021
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The systematic error of calibrated fluxgate magnetometer data is studied for a spinning spacecraft. The major error comes from the offset uncertainty when the ambient magnetic field is low, while the error represents the combination of non-orthogonality, misalignment to spacecraft reference direction, and gain when the ambient field is high. The results are useful in developing future high-precision magnetometers and an error estimate in scientific studies using magnetometer data.
Ovidiu Dragoş Constantinescu, Hans-Ulrich Auster, Magda Delva, Olaf Hillenmaier, Werner Magnes, and Ferdinand Plaschke
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 9, 451–469, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-9-451-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-9-451-2020, 2020
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We propose a gradiometer-based technique for cleaning multi-sensor magnetic field data acquired on board spacecraft. The technique takes advantage on the fact that the maximum-variance direction of many AC disturbances on board spacecraft does not change over time. We apply the proposed technique to the SOSMAG instrument on board GeoKompsat-2A. We analyse the performance and limitations of the technique and discuss in detail how various disturbances are removed.
Daniel Schmid, Ferdinand Plaschke, Yasuhito Narita, Daniel Heyner, Johannes Z. D. Mieth, Brian J. Anderson, Martin Volwerk, Ayako Matsuoka, and Wolfgang Baumjohann
Ann. Geophys., 38, 823–832, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-38-823-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-38-823-2020, 2020
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Recently, the two-spacecraft mission BepiColombo was launched to explore Mercury. To measure the magnetic field precisely, in-flight calibration of the magnetometer offset is needed. Usually, the offset is evaluated from magnetic field observations in the solar wind. Since one of the spacecraft will remain within Mercury's magnetic environment, we examine an alternative calibration method. We show that this method is applicable and may be a valuable tool to determine the offset accurately.
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Ann. Geophys., 38, 287–296, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-38-287-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-38-287-2020, 2020
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Jets of solar-wind plasma commonly hit the Earth's magnetosphere. Using data from the four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft, we show statistically that within jets the magnetic field is more aligned with the plasma flow direction than outside of these jets. Our study confirms prior simulation results, but it also shows that the average effect is moderate. The jets' magnetic field is important with respect to their impact on space weather.
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The magnetic field that is carried by the solar wind slowly decreases in strength as it moves further from the Sun. However, there are sometimes localized decreases in the magnetic field strength, called magnetic holes. These are small structures where the magnetic field strength decreases to less than 50 % of the surroundings and the plasma density increases. This paper presents a statistical study of the behaviour of these holes between Mercury and Venus using MESSENGER data.
Ferdinand Plaschke
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 8, 285–291, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-8-285-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-8-285-2019, 2019
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Measuring the magnetic field onboard spacecraft requires regular in-flight calibration activities. Among those, determining the output of magnetometers under vanishing ambient magnetic fields, the so-called magnetometer offsets, is essential. Typically, characteristic rotations in solar wind magnetic fields are used to obtain these offsets. This paper addresses the question of how many solar wind data are needed to reach certain accuracy levels in offset determination.
Laura Vuorinen, Heli Hietala, and Ferdinand Plaschke
Ann. Geophys., 37, 689–697, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-37-689-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-37-689-2019, 2019
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Before the solar wind encounters the Earth's magnetic field, it is first slowed down and deflected by the Earth's bow shock. We find that downstream of the bow shock regions where the shock normal and the solar wind magnetic field are almost parallel and the shock is more rippled, plasma jets with high earthward velocities are observed significantly more often than elsewhere downstream of the shock. Our results help us forecast the occurrence of these jets and their effects on Earth.
Ferdinand Plaschke, Hans-Ulrich Auster, David Fischer, Karl-Heinz Fornaçon, Werner Magnes, Ingo Richter, Dragos Constantinescu, and Yasuhito Narita
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 8, 63–76, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-8-63-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-8-63-2019, 2019
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Raw output of spacecraft magnetometers has to be converted into meaningful units and coordinate systems before it is usable for scientific applications. This conversion is defined by 12 calibration parameters, 8 of which are more easily determined in flight if the spacecraft is spinning. We present theory and advanced algorithms to determine these eight parameters. They take into account the physical magnetometer and spacecraft behavior, making them superior to previously published algorithms.
Minna Palmroth, Heli Hietala, Ferdinand Plaschke, Martin Archer, Tomas Karlsson, Xóchitl Blanco-Cano, David Sibeck, Primož Kajdič, Urs Ganse, Yann Pfau-Kempf, Markus Battarbee, and Lucile Turc
Ann. Geophys., 36, 1171–1182, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-36-1171-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-36-1171-2018, 2018
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Magnetosheath jets are high-velocity plasma structures that are commonly observed within the Earth's magnetosheath. Previously, they have mainly been investigated with spacecraft observations, which do not allow us to infer their spatial sizes, temporal evolution, or origin. This paper shows for the first time their dimensions, evolution, and origins within a simulation whose dimensions are directly comparable to the Earth's magnetosphere. The results are compared to previous observations.
Tomas Karlsson, Ferdinand Plaschke, Heli Hietala, Martin Archer, Xóchitl Blanco-Cano, Primož Kajdič, Per-Arne Lindqvist, Göran Marklund, and Daniel J. Gershman
Ann. Geophys., 36, 655–677, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-36-655-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-36-655-2018, 2018
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We have studied fast plasma jets outside of Earth’s magnetic environment. Such jets are small-scale structures with a limited lifetime, which may be important in determining the properties of the near-Earth space environment, due to their concentrated kinetic energy. We have used data from the NASA Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) satellites to study their properties in detail, to understand how these jets are formed. We have found evidence that there are at least two different types of jets.
Sudong Xiao, Tielong Zhang, Guoqiang Wang, Martin Volwerk, Yasong Ge, Daniel Schmid, Rumi Nakamura, Wolfgang Baumjohann, and Ferdinand Plaschke
Ann. Geophys., 35, 1015–1022, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-35-1015-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-35-1015-2017, 2017
Dennis Frühauff, Ferdinand Plaschke, and Karl-Heinz Glassmeier
Ann. Geophys., 35, 117–121, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-35-117-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-35-117-2017, 2017
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Vector magnetic field instruments mounted on spacecraft require precise in-flight calibration of the offsets of all three axes, i.e., the output in vanishing ambient field. While calibration of the spin plane offsets is trivial, we apply a new technique for determining the spin axis offset, not relying on solar wind data but on magnetosheath encounters. This technique is successfully applied to the satellites of the THEMIS mission to update the calibration parameters of the complete mission.
Martin Volwerk, Daniel Schmid, Bruce T. Tsurutani, Magda Delva, Ferdinand Plaschke, Yasuhito Narita, Tielong Zhang, and Karl-Heinz Glassmeier
Ann. Geophys., 34, 1099–1108, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-34-1099-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-34-1099-2016, 2016
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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.
David Fischer, Werner Magnes, Christian Hagen, Ivan Dors, Mark W. Chutter, Jerry Needell, Roy B. Torbert, Olivier Le Contel, Robert J. Strangeway, Gernot Kubin, Aris Valavanoglou, Ferdinand Plaschke, Rumi Nakamura, Laurent Mirioni, Christopher T. Russell, Hannes K. Leinweber, Kenneth R. Bromund, Guan Le, Lawrence Kepko, Brian J. Anderson, James A. Slavin, and Wolfgang Baumjohann
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 5, 521–530, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-5-521-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-5-521-2016, 2016
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This paper describes frequency and timing calibration, modeling and data processing and calibration for MMS magnetometers, resulting in a merged search choil and fluxgate data product.
Ferdinand Plaschke and Yasuhito Narita
Ann. Geophys., 34, 759–766, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-34-759-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-34-759-2016, 2016
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Short summary
Spacecraft-mounted magnetic field instruments (magnetometers) need to be routinely calibrated. This involves determining the magnetometer outputs in vanishing ambient magnetic fields, the so-called offsets. We introduce and test a new method to determine these offsets with high accuracy, the mirror mode method, which is complementary to existing methods. The mirror mode method should be highly beneficial to current and future magnetic field observations near Earth, other planets, and comets.
D. Schmid, M. Volwerk, F. Plaschke, Z. Vörös, T. L. Zhang, W. Baumjohann, and Y. Narita
Ann. Geophys., 32, 651–657, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-32-651-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-32-651-2014, 2014
R. Nakamura, F. Plaschke, R. Teubenbacher, L. Giner, W. Baumjohann, W. Magnes, M. Steller, R. B. Torbert, H. Vaith, M. Chutter, K.-H. Fornaçon, K.-H. Glassmeier, and C. Carr
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 3, 1–11, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-3-1-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-3-1-2014, 2014
F. Plaschke, H. Hietala, and V. Angelopoulos
Ann. Geophys., 31, 1877–1889, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-1877-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-1877-2013, 2013
C. Nabert, K.-H. Glassmeier, and F. Plaschke
Ann. Geophys., 31, 419–437, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-419-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-419-2013, 2013
Niklas Grimmich, Adrian Pöppelwerth, Martin Owain Archer, David Gary Sibeck, Ferdinand Plaschke, Wenli Mo, Vicki Toy-Edens, Drew Lawson Turner, Hyangpyo Kim, and Rumi Nakamura
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2956, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2956, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The boundary of Earth's magnetic field, the magnetopause, deflects and reacts to the solar wind - the energetic particles emanating from the Sun. We find that certain types of solar wind favour the occurrence of deviations between the magnetopause locations observed by spacecraft and those predicted by models. In addition, the turbulent region in front of the magnetopause, the foreshock, has a large influence on the location of the magnetopause and thus on the accuracy of the model predictions.
Niklas Grimmich, Ferdinand Plaschke, Benjamin Grison, Fabio Prencipe, Christophe Philippe Escoubet, Martin Owain Archer, Ovidiu Dragos Constantinescu, Stein Haaland, Rumi Nakamura, David Gary Sibeck, Fabien Darrouzet, Mykhaylo Hayosh, and Romain Maggiolo
Ann. Geophys., 42, 371–394, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-42-371-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-42-371-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In our study, we looked at the boundary between the Earth's magnetic field and the interplanetary magnetic field emitted by the Sun, called the magnetopause. While other studies focus on the magnetopause motion near Earth's Equator, we have studied it in polar regions. The motion of the magnetopause is faster towards the Earth than towards the Sun. We also found that the occurrence of unusual magnetopause locations is due to similar solar influences in the equatorial and polar regions.
Adrian Pöppelwerth, Georg Glebe, Johannes Z. D. Mieth, Florian Koller, Tomas Karlsson, Zoltán Vörös, and Ferdinand Plaschke
Ann. Geophys., 42, 271–284, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-42-271-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-42-271-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In the magnetosheath, a near-Earth region of space, we observe increases in plasma velocity and density, so-called jets. As they propagate towards Earth, jets interact with the ambient plasma. We study this interaction with three spacecraft simultaneously to infer their sizes. While previous studies have investigated their size almost exclusively statistically, we demonstrate a new method of determining the sizes of individual jets.
Tomas Karlsson, Ferdinand Plaschke, Austin N. Glass, and Jim M. Raines
Ann. Geophys., 42, 117–130, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-42-117-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-42-117-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The solar wind interacts with the planets in the solar system and creates a supersonic shock in front of them. The upstream region of this shock contains many complicated phenomena. One such phenomenon is small-scale structures of strong magnetic fields (SLAMS). These SLAMS have been observed at Earth and are important in determining the properties of space around the planet. Until now, SLAMS have not been observed at Mercury, but we show for the first time that SLAMS also exist there.
Leonard Schulz, Karl-Heinz Glassmeier, Ferdinand Plaschke, Simon Toepfer, and Uwe Motschmann
Ann. Geophys., 41, 449–463, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-41-449-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-41-449-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The upper detection limit in reciprocal space, the spatial Nyquist limit, is derived for arbitrary spatial dimensions for the wave telescope analysis technique. This is important as future space plasma missions will incorporate larger numbers of spacecraft (>4). Our findings are a key element in planning the spatial distribution of future multi-point spacecraft missions. The wave telescope is a multi-dimensional power spectrum estimator; hence, this can be applied to other fields of research.
Martin Volwerk, Beatriz Sánchez-Cano, Daniel Heyner, Sae Aizawa, Nicolas André, Ali Varsani, Johannes Mieth, Stefano Orsini, Wolfgang Baumjohann, David Fischer, Yoshifumi Futaana, Richard Harrison, Harald Jeszenszky, Iwai Kazumasa, Gunter Laky, Herbert Lichtenegger, Anna Milillo, Yoshizumi Miyoshi, Rumi Nakamura, Ferdinand Plaschke, Ingo Richter, Sebastián Rojas Mata, Yoshifumi Saito, Daniel Schmid, Daikou Shiota, and Cyril Simon Wedlund
Ann. Geophys., 39, 811–831, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-811-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-811-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
On 15 October 2020, BepiColombo used Venus as a gravity assist to change its orbit to reach Mercury in late 2021. During this passage of Venus, the spacecraft entered into Venus's magnetotail at a distance of 70 Venus radii from the planet. We have studied the magnetic field and plasma data and find that Venus's magnetotail is highly active. This is caused by strong activity in the solar wind, where just before the flyby a coronal mass ejection interacted with the magnetophere of Venus.
Andrei Runov, Maxime Grandin, Minna Palmroth, Markus Battarbee, Urs Ganse, Heli Hietala, Sanni Hoilijoki, Emilia Kilpua, Yann Pfau-Kempf, Sergio Toledo-Redondo, Lucile Turc, and Drew Turner
Ann. Geophys., 39, 599–612, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-599-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-599-2021, 2021
Short summary
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In collisionless systems like space plasma, particle velocity distributions contain fingerprints of ongoing physical processes. However, it is challenging to decode this information from observations. We used hybrid-Vlasov simulations to obtain ion velocity distribution functions at different locations and at different stages of the Earth's magnetosphere dynamics. The obtained distributions provide valuable examples that may be directly compared with observations by satellites in space.
Daniel Schmid, Yasuhito Narita, Ferdinand Plaschke, Martin Volwerk, Rumi Nakamura, and Wolfgang Baumjohann
Ann. Geophys., 39, 563–570, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-563-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-563-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In this work we present the first analytical magnetosheath plasma flow model for the space environment around Mercury. The proposed model is relatively simple to implement and provides the possibility to trace the flow lines inside the Hermean magnetosheath. It can help to determine the the local plasma conditions of a spacecraft in the magnetosheath exclusively on the basis of the upstream solar wind parameters.
Martin Volwerk, David Mautner, Cyril Simon Wedlund, Charlotte Goetz, Ferdinand Plaschke, Tomas Karlsson, Daniel Schmid, Diana Rojas-Castillo, Owen W. Roberts, and Ali Varsani
Ann. Geophys., 39, 239–253, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-239-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-239-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The magnetic field in the solar wind is not constant but varies in direction and strength. One of these variations shows a strong local reduction of the magnetic field strength and is called a magnetic hole. These holes are usually an indication that there is, or has been, a temperature difference in the plasma of the solar wind, with the temperature along the magnetic field lower than perpendicular. The MMS spacecraft data have been used to study the characteristics of these holes near Earth.
Yasuhito Narita, Ferdinand Plaschke, Werner Magnes, David Fischer, and Daniel Schmid
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 10, 13–24, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-10-13-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-10-13-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The systematic error of calibrated fluxgate magnetometer data is studied for a spinning spacecraft. The major error comes from the offset uncertainty when the ambient magnetic field is low, while the error represents the combination of non-orthogonality, misalignment to spacecraft reference direction, and gain when the ambient field is high. The results are useful in developing future high-precision magnetometers and an error estimate in scientific studies using magnetometer data.
Ovidiu Dragoş Constantinescu, Hans-Ulrich Auster, Magda Delva, Olaf Hillenmaier, Werner Magnes, and Ferdinand Plaschke
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 9, 451–469, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-9-451-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-9-451-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We propose a gradiometer-based technique for cleaning multi-sensor magnetic field data acquired on board spacecraft. The technique takes advantage on the fact that the maximum-variance direction of many AC disturbances on board spacecraft does not change over time. We apply the proposed technique to the SOSMAG instrument on board GeoKompsat-2A. We analyse the performance and limitations of the technique and discuss in detail how various disturbances are removed.
Daniel Schmid, Ferdinand Plaschke, Yasuhito Narita, Daniel Heyner, Johannes Z. D. Mieth, Brian J. Anderson, Martin Volwerk, Ayako Matsuoka, and Wolfgang Baumjohann
Ann. Geophys., 38, 823–832, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-38-823-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-38-823-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Recently, the two-spacecraft mission BepiColombo was launched to explore Mercury. To measure the magnetic field precisely, in-flight calibration of the magnetometer offset is needed. Usually, the offset is evaluated from magnetic field observations in the solar wind. Since one of the spacecraft will remain within Mercury's magnetic environment, we examine an alternative calibration method. We show that this method is applicable and may be a valuable tool to determine the offset accurately.
Ferdinand Plaschke, Maria Jernej, Heli Hietala, and Laura Vuorinen
Ann. Geophys., 38, 287–296, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-38-287-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-38-287-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Jets of solar-wind plasma commonly hit the Earth's magnetosphere. Using data from the four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft, we show statistically that within jets the magnetic field is more aligned with the plasma flow direction than outside of these jets. Our study confirms prior simulation results, but it also shows that the average effect is moderate. The jets' magnetic field is important with respect to their impact on space weather.
Martin Volwerk, Charlotte Goetz, Ferdinand Plaschke, Tomas Karlsson, Daniel Heyner, and Brian Anderson
Ann. Geophys., 38, 51–60, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-38-51-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-38-51-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The magnetic field that is carried by the solar wind slowly decreases in strength as it moves further from the Sun. However, there are sometimes localized decreases in the magnetic field strength, called magnetic holes. These are small structures where the magnetic field strength decreases to less than 50 % of the surroundings and the plasma density increases. This paper presents a statistical study of the behaviour of these holes between Mercury and Venus using MESSENGER data.
Ferdinand Plaschke
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 8, 285–291, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-8-285-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-8-285-2019, 2019
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Measuring the magnetic field onboard spacecraft requires regular in-flight calibration activities. Among those, determining the output of magnetometers under vanishing ambient magnetic fields, the so-called magnetometer offsets, is essential. Typically, characteristic rotations in solar wind magnetic fields are used to obtain these offsets. This paper addresses the question of how many solar wind data are needed to reach certain accuracy levels in offset determination.
Laura Vuorinen, Heli Hietala, and Ferdinand Plaschke
Ann. Geophys., 37, 689–697, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-37-689-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-37-689-2019, 2019
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Before the solar wind encounters the Earth's magnetic field, it is first slowed down and deflected by the Earth's bow shock. We find that downstream of the bow shock regions where the shock normal and the solar wind magnetic field are almost parallel and the shock is more rippled, plasma jets with high earthward velocities are observed significantly more often than elsewhere downstream of the shock. Our results help us forecast the occurrence of these jets and their effects on Earth.
Ferdinand Plaschke, Hans-Ulrich Auster, David Fischer, Karl-Heinz Fornaçon, Werner Magnes, Ingo Richter, Dragos Constantinescu, and Yasuhito Narita
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 8, 63–76, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-8-63-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-8-63-2019, 2019
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Raw output of spacecraft magnetometers has to be converted into meaningful units and coordinate systems before it is usable for scientific applications. This conversion is defined by 12 calibration parameters, 8 of which are more easily determined in flight if the spacecraft is spinning. We present theory and advanced algorithms to determine these eight parameters. They take into account the physical magnetometer and spacecraft behavior, making them superior to previously published algorithms.
Minna Palmroth, Heli Hietala, Ferdinand Plaschke, Martin Archer, Tomas Karlsson, Xóchitl Blanco-Cano, David Sibeck, Primož Kajdič, Urs Ganse, Yann Pfau-Kempf, Markus Battarbee, and Lucile Turc
Ann. Geophys., 36, 1171–1182, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-36-1171-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-36-1171-2018, 2018
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Magnetosheath jets are high-velocity plasma structures that are commonly observed within the Earth's magnetosheath. Previously, they have mainly been investigated with spacecraft observations, which do not allow us to infer their spatial sizes, temporal evolution, or origin. This paper shows for the first time their dimensions, evolution, and origins within a simulation whose dimensions are directly comparable to the Earth's magnetosphere. The results are compared to previous observations.
Tomas Karlsson, Ferdinand Plaschke, Heli Hietala, Martin Archer, Xóchitl Blanco-Cano, Primož Kajdič, Per-Arne Lindqvist, Göran Marklund, and Daniel J. Gershman
Ann. Geophys., 36, 655–677, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-36-655-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-36-655-2018, 2018
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We have studied fast plasma jets outside of Earth’s magnetic environment. Such jets are small-scale structures with a limited lifetime, which may be important in determining the properties of the near-Earth space environment, due to their concentrated kinetic energy. We have used data from the NASA Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) satellites to study their properties in detail, to understand how these jets are formed. We have found evidence that there are at least two different types of jets.
Minna Palmroth, Sanni Hoilijoki, Liisa Juusola, Tuija I. Pulkkinen, Heli Hietala, Yann Pfau-Kempf, Urs Ganse, Sebastian von Alfthan, Rami Vainio, and Michael Hesse
Ann. Geophys., 35, 1269–1274, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-35-1269-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-35-1269-2017, 2017
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Much like solar flares, substorms occurring within the Earth's magnetic domain are explosive events that cause vivid auroral displays. A decades-long debate exists to explain the substorm onset. We devise a simulation encompassing the entire near-Earth space and demonstrate that detailed modelling of magnetic reconnection explains the central substorm observations. Our results help to understand the unpredictable substorm process, which will significantly improve space weather forecasts.
Sudong Xiao, Tielong Zhang, Guoqiang Wang, Martin Volwerk, Yasong Ge, Daniel Schmid, Rumi Nakamura, Wolfgang Baumjohann, and Ferdinand Plaschke
Ann. Geophys., 35, 1015–1022, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-35-1015-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-35-1015-2017, 2017
Dennis Frühauff, Ferdinand Plaschke, and Karl-Heinz Glassmeier
Ann. Geophys., 35, 117–121, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-35-117-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-35-117-2017, 2017
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Vector magnetic field instruments mounted on spacecraft require precise in-flight calibration of the offsets of all three axes, i.e., the output in vanishing ambient field. While calibration of the spin plane offsets is trivial, we apply a new technique for determining the spin axis offset, not relying on solar wind data but on magnetosheath encounters. This technique is successfully applied to the satellites of the THEMIS mission to update the calibration parameters of the complete mission.
Martin Volwerk, Daniel Schmid, Bruce T. Tsurutani, Magda Delva, Ferdinand Plaschke, Yasuhito Narita, Tielong Zhang, and Karl-Heinz Glassmeier
Ann. Geophys., 34, 1099–1108, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-34-1099-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-34-1099-2016, 2016
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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.
David Fischer, Werner Magnes, Christian Hagen, Ivan Dors, Mark W. Chutter, Jerry Needell, Roy B. Torbert, Olivier Le Contel, Robert J. Strangeway, Gernot Kubin, Aris Valavanoglou, Ferdinand Plaschke, Rumi Nakamura, Laurent Mirioni, Christopher T. Russell, Hannes K. Leinweber, Kenneth R. Bromund, Guan Le, Lawrence Kepko, Brian J. Anderson, James A. Slavin, and Wolfgang Baumjohann
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 5, 521–530, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-5-521-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-5-521-2016, 2016
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This paper describes frequency and timing calibration, modeling and data processing and calibration for MMS magnetometers, resulting in a merged search choil and fluxgate data product.
Yann Pfau-Kempf, Heli Hietala, Steve E. Milan, Liisa Juusola, Sanni Hoilijoki, Urs Ganse, Sebastian von Alfthan, and Minna Palmroth
Ann. Geophys., 34, 943–959, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-34-943-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-34-943-2016, 2016
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We have simulated the interaction of the solar wind – the charged particles and magnetic fields emitted by the Sun into space – with the magnetic field of the Earth. The solar wind flows supersonically and creates a shock when it encounters the obstacle formed by the geomagnetic field. We have identified a new chain of events which causes phenomena in the downstream region to eventually cause perturbations at the shock and even upstream. This is confirmed by ground and satellite observations.
Ferdinand Plaschke and Yasuhito Narita
Ann. Geophys., 34, 759–766, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-34-759-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-34-759-2016, 2016
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Spacecraft-mounted magnetic field instruments (magnetometers) need to be routinely calibrated. This involves determining the magnetometer outputs in vanishing ambient magnetic fields, the so-called offsets. We introduce and test a new method to determine these offsets with high accuracy, the mirror mode method, which is complementary to existing methods. The mirror mode method should be highly beneficial to current and future magnetic field observations near Earth, other planets, and comets.
D. Schmid, M. Volwerk, F. Plaschke, Z. Vörös, T. L. Zhang, W. Baumjohann, and Y. Narita
Ann. Geophys., 32, 651–657, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-32-651-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-32-651-2014, 2014
R. Nakamura, F. Plaschke, R. Teubenbacher, L. Giner, W. Baumjohann, W. Magnes, M. Steller, R. B. Torbert, H. Vaith, M. Chutter, K.-H. Fornaçon, K.-H. Glassmeier, and C. Carr
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 3, 1–11, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-3-1-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-3-1-2014, 2014
F. Plaschke, H. Hietala, and V. Angelopoulos
Ann. Geophys., 31, 1877–1889, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-1877-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-1877-2013, 2013
K. Andreeova, E. K. J. Kilpua, H. Hietala, H. E. J. Koskinen, A. Isavnin, and R. Vainio
Ann. Geophys., 31, 555–562, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-555-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-555-2013, 2013
C. Nabert, K.-H. Glassmeier, and F. Plaschke
Ann. Geophys., 31, 419–437, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-419-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-419-2013, 2013
Short summary
Fast jets of solar wind particles drive through a slower environment in the magnetosheath, located sunward of the region dominated by the Earth’s magnetic field. THEMIS multi-spacecraft observations show that jets push ambient particles out of their way. These particles flow around the faster jets into the jets’ wake. Thereby, jets stir the magnetosheath, changing the properties of this key region whose particles and magnetic fields can directly interact with the Earth’s magnetic field.
Fast jets of solar wind particles drive through a slower environment in the magnetosheath,...