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Neutral Atom Imaging of the Solar Wind‐Magnetosphere‐Exosphere Interaction Near the Subsolar Magnetopause
Author(s) -
Fuselier S. A.,
Dayeh M. A.,
Galli A.,
Funsten H. O.,
Schwadron N. A.,
Petrinec S. M.,
Trattner K. J.,
McComas D. J.,
Burch J. L.,
ToledoRedondo S.,
Szalay J. R.,
Strangeway R. J.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2020gl089362
Subject(s) - magnetosheath , magnetopause , exosphere , magnetosphere , physics , energetic neutral atom , solar wind , magnetosphere of saturn , geophysics , plasma , magnetosphere of jupiter , bow shock (aerodynamics) , astrophysics , astronomy , astrobiology , ion , mechanics , quantum mechanics , shock wave
Energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) created by charge‐exchange of ions with the Earth's hydrogen exosphere near the subsolar magnetopause yield information on the distribution of plasma in the outer magnetosphere and magnetosheath. ENA observations from the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) are used to image magnetosheath plasma and, for the first time, low‐energy magnetospheric plasma near the magnetopause. These images show that magnetosheath plasma is distributed fairly evenly near the subsolar magnetopause; however, low‐energy magnetospheric plasma is not distributed evenly in the outer magnetosphere. Simultaneous images and in situ observations from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft from November 2015 (during the solar cycle declining phase) are used to derive the exospheric density. The ~11–17 cm −3 density at 10 R E is similar to that obtained previously for solar minimum. Thus, these combined results indicate that the exospheric density 10 R E from the Earth may have a weak dependence on solar cycle.