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- SM12B-05: Properties of Earthward and Tailward High-Speed Plasma Flows in Earth’s Distant Magnetotail: Solar Cycle and Geomagnetic Activity Dependence
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NOLA CC
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Anissa Pokorny-Yadav, University of California Berkeley (First Author)
Marit Oieroset, University of California, Berkeley (Presenting Author)
Tai Phan, University of California Berkeley
Andrei Runov, University of California Los Angeles
Vassilis Angelopoulos, University of California Los Angeles
The magnetic energy stored in Earth’s magnetic tail is perpetually converted into high-speed flows and particle heating by a process called magnetic reconnection. This process is important for the dynamics of Earth’s magnetosphere and many astrophysical contexts, for example in solar and stellar flares. While solar and stellar flares can only be observed remotely, satellites passing through in the magnetotail fly directly through these high-speed reconnection flows, observing them in-situ. We use observations from the NASA/ARTEMIS spacecraft in lunar orbit to study magnetotail high-speed flows at lunar distances. Interestingly, we find that the occurrence rate of high-speed flows follows the solar cycle and is about twice as high during solar maximum compared to solar minimum. Furthermore, the temperature and speed of the high-speed flows are higher during solar maximum compared to solar minimum. The ion and electron temperatures are also higher when the geomagnetic activity is higher, for example during geomagnetic storms. We find that many tailward-directed flows observed at lunar distances originate from a near-Earth reconnection region, while the earthward-directed flows are from a distant magnetotail reconnection site. This means that both near-Earth and distant tail reconnection are affected by solar cycle and geomagnetic activity.
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