Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-6-2016
Publication Title
Geophysical Research Letters
Department
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
We analyze a magnetopause crossing by the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft at 1307 UT on 16 Oct 2016 that showed features of electron scale reconnection. For this event, we find orthonormal LMN coordinates from the magnetic field, with N and L varying respectively along the maximum gradient and maximum variance directions. We find the motion along N from the Spatio-Temporal Difference analysis and motion along L from measured particle velocities. We locate the position of the magnetic X point, finding that MMS-4 passed within about 1.4 km from the X point and that MMS-3 and MMS-2 passed within about 1.7 km and 2.4 km, respectively, from the position of maximum out of plane current.
DOI
10.1002/2016GL069214
Dartmouth Digital Commons Citation
Denton, Richard; Sonnerup, O.; Hasegawa, H.; Phan, D.; Russell, C.T.; Giles, B.L.; Gershman, D.; and Torbert, R.B., "Motion of the MMS Spacecraft Relative to the Magnetic Reconnection Structure Observed on 16 Oct 2015 at 1307 UT" (2016). Dartmouth Scholarship. 55.
https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/facoa/55