Magnetosphere of Earth

The WIND MFI team has three main thrusts of study in the area of Earth's magnetosphere:

1) Using MFI observations of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), especially Bz (the North-South component), to support magnetospheric studies by other spacecraft such as POLAR and GEOTAIL.

2) Using WIND perigee passes to study magnetospheric boundaries and dynamic variations in the near tail during substorms.

3) Using WIND distant tail observations taken during the extended mission to study the structure and dynamics of the distant tail in conjunction with POLAR auroral observations.

Here is a sample of one type of magnetospheric study. This study is in the magnetotail region as opposed to the magnetospheric boundary region.

WIND, GEOTAIL, and GOES 9 observations of magnetic field dipolarization and bursty bulk flows in the near-tail

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