A new analysis of satellite data could upend conventional wisdom about how solar storms produce their dangerous radiation—not from X-shaped mergers of magnetic field lines but from swirling vortices.
magnetic fields & magnetism
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Explaining Unexpected Twists in the Sun's Magnetic Field
New research shows how the Sun's magnetic field can shift when it approaches Earth, which can throw off space weather forecasts.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Filling Earth’s Space Environment from the Sun or the Earth?
The editor of a new book describes how a unique combination of the monograph and video show that a four-decade old paradigm in solar-terrestrial physics is changing.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
How Lightning Creates "Killer Electrons" in Earth's Radiation Belts
New calculations show that lightning-triggered plasma waves in Earth's magnetosphere absorb energy from slow particles and energize electrons to levels that can damage satellites severely.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Polar Interlopers in the Aurora
A new study suggests that poleward boundary intensifications in the aurora are caused by fast flows of plasma from the poles into the auroral oval.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Plasma Waves Pinpointed at the Site of Magnetic Reconnection
When the Earth's and the Sun's magnetic fields meet, they realign in explosive and mysterious reconnections. Data suggest that plasma waves called kinetic Alfvén waves play a key role.
Posted inNews
Biogenic Oxygen on the Moon Could Hold Secrets to Earth's Past
Lunar orbiting data show that terrestrial oxygen rains down periodically on the Moon, enticing researchers with an opportunity to study Earth's ancient atmosphere.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Global Positioning System Sparks New Data Revolution
Energetic particle data from the Global Positioning System constellation opens avenues for new research.
Posted inAGU News
Robert Coe Receives 2016 John Adam Fleming Medal
Robert Coe was awarded the 2016 John Adam Fleming Medal at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony, held on 14 December 2016 in San Francisco, Calif. The medal is for "original research and technical leadership in geomagnetism, atmospheric electricity, aeronomy, space physics, and/or related sciences."
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Mapping Geoelectric Hazards Across the United States
Variations in Earth’s magnetic field can induce electric fields in the ground, driving damaging currents through our power grids.