|
|
| Cluster reveals the natural scale of the Earth's bow shock thickness |
| Published 31 December 2003 in Physical Review Letters, the first study of 98 collisionless shock crossings in terms of density reveals the natural scale of the Earth's bow shock thickness. This new discovery has broad relevance to astrophysics. |
| Date: 05 Apr 2004 |
|
|
| Explosions, Plasmoids, Ion Beams - Report on 7th Cluster Workshop |
| The Earth possesses an internal magnetic dynamo that generates a magnetic field that affects the motion of charge particles in space around the Earth. Under pressure from the solar wind, the shape of the Earth's magnetic field lines transforms from a dipolar form into a large comet-like form. The tail of this structure, also called the magnetotail, is understood to be an explosive region and a source of energetic particles; some of the particles are relativistic and can reach energies higher than 10 MeV. |
| Date: 15 Mar 2004 |
|
|
| Solar Storms October/November 2003 |
| On the 24th of October 2003, the SOHO spacecraft registered a huge Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), emitted by the Sun. Several hours later this eruption reached the Earth and was detected by a number of spacecraft including Cluster. |
| Date: 29 Oct 2003 |
|
|
| Highlights from 6th Cluster Workshop |
| Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental process in space and astrophysical plasmas through which plasmas of different origin are able to mix and become accelerated into energetic jets, and which allows the transfer of energy between different regions of space. |
| Date: 06 Oct 2003 |
|
|
| Multi-point Observations of Magnetic Reconnection |
| Magnetic reconnection is a Universal phenomenon process in magnetized plasma where magnetic field lines are broken and then reconnected. This explosive process is converting magnetic energy into particle heating and acceleration. Reconnection is believed to occur is all magnetized bodies, from astronomical objects to the Sun and in the magnetosphere. |
| Date: 29 Jun 2003 |
|
|
| ESA PR 31-2003 ESA's Cluster solves auroral puzzle |
| ESA's four Cluster spacecraft have made a remarkable set of observations that has led to a breakthrough in understanding the origin of a peculiar and puzzling type of aurora. |
| Date: 20 May 2003 |
|
|
| ESA PR 10-2003 ESA chairs the International Living With a Star programme |
| ESA is providing the first chairman for the International Living With A Star (ILWS) programme. ILWS is an unprecedented initiative in which space agencies worldwide are getting together to investigate how variations in the Sun affect the environment of Earth and the other planets, in the short and long term. |
| Date: 20 Feb 2003 |
|
|
| Bifurcation of the Tail Current |
| The cross-magnetotail current sheet, which separates the northern lobe of the magnetotail from the southern lobe, is one of the key objects of magnetospheric physics. |
| Date: 29 Jan 2003 |
|
|
| Measurement of the Electric Current |
| The prime scientific objective of Cluster is to derive physical quantities, such as the electric current density that can only be obtained by combining measurements from the four spacecraft. A first example where this has been achieved was obtained close to the external boundary of the Earth's magnetic field, in a Flux Transfer Event (FTE). |
| Date: 28 Jan 2003 |
|
|
| Thinning of the Tail Current Sheet |
| The Cluster quartet of spacecraft allows, for the first time, to unambiguously determine the characteristics of the tail current sheet in the Earth's magnetosphere. |
| Date: 29 Dec 2002 |
|
|
| Telescopic/Microscopic View of a Substorm |
| A powerful solar eruption occurred on 29 March 2001, which then released a coronal mass ejection toward the Earth. Early on 31 March 2001, since it is taking about 2 days for the CME to reach the Earth, a strong interplanetary shock struck the Earth, initiating one of the largest geomagnetic storms of this solar cycle. |
| Date: 01 Oct 2002 |
|
|
| ESA studies the Sun-Earth climate link |
| Meteorologists can no longer view the Earth as an isolated system. Both long-term climate changes and day-to-day weather show links with the Sun's activity. Scientists therefore study the nature of those links intensely. With data from ESA's spaceprobes SOHO, Cluster, and Ulysses, we now have the information we need to solve the mystery of how the Sun's activity affects the climate here on Earth. This study is the first step in setting up a new type of weather forecast - the space-weather bulletin. |
| Date: 23 Aug 2002 |
|
|
| Linking the Earth's climate with the Sun |
| |
| Date: 23 Aug 2002 |
|
|
| After the World Cup... the dancing continues in space |
| The Brazilian World Cup celebrations may have started to die down, but in space the never-ending football match between the Sun and Earth continues. And watching this match closely are Salsa, Samba, Rumba and Tango, the four satellites that make up the Cluster mission. They are performing their Brazilian dances 119 000 kilometres above our heads.
|
| Date: 05 Jul 2002 |
|
|
| Unusual views of the Sun |
| For centuries, we have worshipped it and wondered at it, but it's only now that we are getting a really good look at it. Although you can't gaze at the Sun with the naked eye, thanks to modern science we can view images of our nearest star that confirm the fiery glory our ancestors could only imagine. |
| Date: 21 May 2002 |
|
|
| Cluster quartet probes the secrets of the black aurora |
| Anyone living near the Arctic Circle will be familiar with aurorae, the legendary red and green curtains that illuminate the long winter nights. Much less familiar is the mysterious 'black aurora', a strange electrical phenomenon that produces dark, empty regions within the visible Northern and Southern Lights.
|
| Date: 11 Dec 2001 |
|
|
| Solar storm blasts Cluster |
| Activity on the Sun may be declining after last year's peak, but, as the four Cluster spacecraft can testify, our nearest star can still pack a hefty punch.
|
| Date: 13 Nov 2001 |
|
|
| Cluster Measurements of Density Gradients |
| The Cluster four spacecraft measurements allow for the measurement of many differential quantities. The gradient of the electron density is one of them. This parameter is key in magnetospheric physics since it is involved in the motion of plasma boundaries and structures. |
| Date: 31 Oct 2001 |
|
|
| Glowing success for Cluster quartet |
| People living at high latitudes may have to endure long, icy winters, but Nature has stepped in to offer some compensation in the form of the auroras - the beautiful, shimmering curtains of red and green that illuminate the polar skies. Now the four Cluster spacecraft have begun to shed new light on the processes that make this dazzling display possible. |
| Date: 23 Oct 2001 |
|
|
| Cluster captures a double cusp |
| Like ships on a never-ending expedition around the world, ESA's four Cluster spacecraft continue to explore the mysterious magnetic environment that surrounds the Earth - a stormy sea filled with electrified particles instead of water. As the quartet surveys the planet's poles, they are discovering the secrets of the northern cusp - a funnel-shaped opening in the magnetic field. |
| Date: 09 Oct 2001 |
|
|
