Flux transfer event

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Cluster spacecraft and NASA's five THEMIS
probes have flown through and surrounded these FTEs, measuring their dimensions and identifying the particles that are transferred between the magnetic fields.

Formation

Earth's magnetosphere and the

dayside of Earth. Approximately every eight minutes, these fields briefly merge, forming a temporary "portal" between the Earth and the Sun through which high-energy particles such as solar wind
can flow. The portal takes the shape of a magnetic cylinder about the width of Earth. Current observations place the portal at up to 4 times the size of Earth.

Simulations

Since Cluster and THEMIS have directly sampled FTEs, scientists can

south pole
.

Flux transfer events beyond Earth

Magnetic fields similar to Earth's are common throughout known space and many undergo similar flux transfer events. During its second flyby of the planet on October 6, 2008, the NASA probe MESSENGER discovered that Mercury’s magnetic field shows a magnetic reconnection rate ten times higher than Earth's. Mercury's proximity to the Sun only accounts for about a third of the reconnection rate observed by MESSENGER and the cause of this discrepancy is not currently known.[1]

Most recently, it has been found that the same phenomenon, also known as a 'magnetic rope', can be observed at Saturn. The findings prove that at times Saturn "behaves and interacts with the Sun in much the same way as Earth".[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ "NASA - Magnetic Tornadoes Could Liberate Mercury's Tenuous Atmosphere". Archived from the original on 2012-05-18. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  2. ^ "Magnetic Rope observed for the first time between Saturn and the Sun". 6 July 2016.

External links

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