The Curlometer Technique
Date: 28 July 2005
Satellite: Cluster
Depicts: Diagram explaining the curlometer technique
Copyright: ESA
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Left: Illustration of the curlometer technique used to derive the current density Jo of the ring current. All four Cluster satellites, depicted in this figure as cylinders, simultaneously measure the magnetic field which is in turn used to calculate "curl B" to derive the current density. Note that when the Cluster spacecraft cross the ring current near perigee, the geometrical configuration is not exactly a tetrahedron as illustrated here.
Right: Sketch of the Earth's magnetosphere. The Sun (not shown) is illuminating the magnetosphere from the left of this figure. The red oval represents the Cluster dayside orbit. The Cluster satellites are positioned in the ring current (coloured in orange), also called trapping region.
Last Update: 1 September 2019
