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| Cluster hears the heartbeat of magnetic reconnection |
| For the first time, scientists have resolved the detailed structure of the core region where magnetic reconnection takes place in the magnetosphere of Earth using unprecedented wave measurements. The study, based on data from ESA's Cluster mission, has mapped different types of electrostatic waves in this region. The waves trace populations of plasma particles that are involved in the different stages of a magnetic reconnection event. |
| Date: 02 May 2013 |
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| Cluster finds source of aurora energy boost |
| A new study based on data from ESA's Cluster mission has revealed the importance of bursty bulk flows (BBFs) - fast streams of plasma that are launched towards Earth during the magnetic substorms that give rise to bright aurorae. By modelling these fast plasma streams using a kinetic approach, scientists have discovered that earlier studies based on magnetohydrodynamics tended to underestimate their role in the energy transfer during magnetic substorms. The new, more accurate description suggests that BBFs can carry up to one third of the total energy transferred during a substorm; in such cases, BBFs represent a major contributor to the brightening of aurorae. |
| Date: 10 Apr 2013 |
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| Turbulent eddies may warm the solar wind |
| The Sun ejects a continuous flow of electrically charged particles and magnetic fields in the form of the solar wind. One of the long-standing puzzles of solar physics is that the solar wind is hotter than it should be. However, a new study of data obtained by ESA's Cluster spacecraft may help to explain the mystery. |
| Date: 18 Dec 2012 |
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| Cluster observes a 'porous' magnetopause |
| A new study based on data from ESA's Cluster mission shows that it is easier for the solar wind to penetrate Earth's magnetosphere than had previously been thought. |
| Date: 24 Oct 2012 |
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| Cluster looks into waves in the magnetosphere's thin boundaries |
| Exploiting a favourable configuration of ESA's Cluster mission spacecraft, scientists have detected and characterised lower hybrid drift waves, a special kind of plasma waves that develop in thin boundaries both in space and in the laboratory. The measurement of fundamental properties of these waves was possible when two of the spacecraft were flying very close to one another in the tail of Earth's magnetosphere. With wavelengths of about 60 km, these waves appear to play an important role in the dynamics of electrons and in the transfer of energy between different layers of plasma in the magnetosphere. |
| Date: 01 Aug 2012 |
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| Origin of particle acceleration in cusps of Earth's magnetosphere uncovered |
| While flying through one of the cusps in Earth's magnetic field, the four spacecraft of ESA's Cluster mission have sampled the population of highly energetic particles that often fill these 'cavities'. A study of the data shows that particles are accelerated locally, within the cusps, as they cross regions characterised by different electric potential - a configuration that results from magnetic reconnection events. This is an important contribution to the long-standing debate concerning how and where these particles are accelerated. |
| Date: 05 Jun 2012 |
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| Earth's protective bubble hasn't burst |
| For the first time, the loss of atmospheric ions from Earth and Mars has been observed during the same solar wind stream. In a new study, data from ESA's Cluster and Mars Express spacecraft, which orbit the Earth and Mars respectively, have been used to compare the outflow of oxygen ions when the planets were aligned. The study's findings reaffirm the importance of the Earth's magnetic field in protecting our atmosphere from the solar wind, which had been questioned in recent years. |
| Date: 07 Mar 2012 |
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| Cluster reveals Earth's bow shock is remarkably thin |
| A new study based on data from ESA's Cluster mission has revealed that the bow shock formed by the solar wind as it encounters Earth's magnetic field is remarkably thin: it measures only 17 kilometres across. Thin astrophysical shocks such as this are candidate sites for early phases of particle acceleration. The finding thus sheds new light on the much debated issue of particle injection in the context of cosmic ray acceleration. |
| Date: 16 Nov 2011 |
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| Ultrafast substorm auroras explained |
| From time to time, sudden releases of energy in Earth's magnetosphere lead to major disturbances that result in bright auroral displays over the planet's polar regions. These auroras are caused by a phenomenon known as a geomagnetic substorm. The precise cause of these substorms has been debated for decades, but new computer simulations, allied to analysis of data from ESA's Cluster spacecraft, are now filling in many of the missing pieces in the puzzle. |
| Date: 06 Sep 2011 |
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| Cluster observes jet braking and plasma heating |
| High speed plasma flows, often referred to as jets, are extremely common across the Universe. Such jets are observed in Earth's magnetosphere, in solar flares, and near various objects powered by black holes. New insights into the processes that modify these streams of ionised particles have been provided by rare in situ measurements of plasma flows made by ESA's Cluster spacecraft. |
| Date: 04 Jul 2011 |
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| First results of Cluster's auroral acceleration campaign |
| Auroras, more commonly known as the northern and southern lights, are one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring natural phenomena. New insights into the processes that generate Earth's auroras (and those of other planets) are now being provided by a flotilla of ESA satellites, known as the Cluster mission, as they sweep through the region of space where these colourful curtains of light are created. As they fly in formation above the planet's poles, the Cluster spacecraft are gathering the first multi-point observations of auroral nurseries. |
| Date: 01 Feb 2011 |
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| ESA spacecraft model magnetic boundaries |
| European scientists have used observations from ESA's Cluster and Venus Express spacecraft to improve models of the interaction of Earth and Venus with the solar wind, the perpetual stream of electrically charged particles emitted by the Sun. This has implications for understanding the effects of charged particles on orbiting spacecraft. |
| Date: 07 Jan 2011 |
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| Europe maintains its presence on the final frontier |
| ESA has decided to extend the productive lives of 11 of its operating space science missions. This will enable ESA's world-class science missions to continue returning pioneering results until at least 2014. |
| Date: 22 Nov 2010 |
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| 10 years of success for Cluster quartet |
| In the summer of 2000, four identical ESA spacecraft lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome at the start of the most detailed investigation ever of the interaction between the Sun and Earth. 10 years later, the Cluster quartet continues to unravel the secrets of the invisible particles and magnetic fields that envelop our Earth. |
| Date: 06 Sep 2010 |
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| Cluster makes crucial step in understanding space weather |
| Researchers using the four spacecraft of ESA's Cluster mission have uncovered the long journey that energetic ions undergo during geomagnetic storms and how they ultimately precipitate into the Earth's atmosphere. Such precipitation affects the composition of the ionosphere, preventing GPS and communications satellites from operating correctly. |
| Date: 26 Jul 2010 |
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| Announcement of Opportunity for Cluster Guest Investigator |
| This Announcement of Opportunity solicits special operation proposals for participation in the Guest Investigator (GI) Programme of the Cluster extended mission from the European Space Agency (ESA). The aim of the GI Programme is to open future spacecraft science operations to the scientific community. Investigations are solicited which identify compelling utilization of the Cluster spacecraft payload for scientific study. The deadline for proposal submissions is 1 October 2010. |
| Date: 08 Jul 2010 |
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| The Cluster archive: more than 1000 users |
| More than 1000 scientists are now registered to access the Cluster Active Archive (CAA), the online database of the Cluster mission. On average, the amount of data downloaded every month by these scientists exceeds 1 Terabyte. |
| Date: 03 Jun 2010 |
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| High-speed plasma jets: origin uncovered |
| For more than a decade, mysterious, high-speed plasma jets have been observed in space, downstream of the Earth's bow shock. The underlying formation mechanism for these jets has now been unveiled, thanks to data collected by the four ESA Cluster satellites. This study also suggests that such mechanisms may be relevant to other astrophysical shocks. |
| Date: 23 Apr 2010 |
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| Shocking recipe for 'killer electrons' |
| Interplanetary shocks can create "killer electrons" in the near-Earth space environment within 15 minutes of the shock reaching the Earth's protective magnetic bubble. The underlying mechanism for this process has now been revealed as a result of a rare configuration of satellites, including Cluster, SOHO and Double Star. |
| Date: 11 Mar 2010 |
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| Multiple rifts in Earth's magnetic shield |
| The Earth's magnetic field protects our planet from most of the permanent flow of particles from the solar wind. Fissures in this magnetic shield are known to occur, enabling the solar wind to penetrate our near-space environment. A study based on data collected by the four ESA Cluster satellites and the CNSA/ESA Double Star TC-1 spacecraft, provides new insight into the location and duration of these ruptures in the Earth's magnetic shield. |
| Date: 20 Jan 2010 |
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