Plasma density irregularity is nothing new on Mars, but the accompanying magnetic field irregularity observed on NASA’s MAVEN satellite is.
plasmas
Posted inEditors' Highlights
A New Pathway for Energy Redistribution in Near-Earth Space
In situ evidence of bidirectional wave-particle energy transfer enabled by local magnetic-field gradient reveals an inhomogeneity-driven pathway for energy redistribution.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Undulations in Auroral Arcs at Plasmaspheric Plume Boundary
Undulations in detached auroral arcs unveil intricate interactions between energetic ions and electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves at plasmaspheric plume boundary.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
How Space Plasma Can Bend the Laser of Gravitational Wave Detectors
A new study reveals how and to what extent laser beams are bent during propagation through space plasma in TianQin, a geocentric space-borne gravitational wave detector.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
What Makes Mars’s Magnetotail Flap?
Spacecraft reveal a key driver of up-and-down motions of thin, current-carrying plasma sheets on the nightside of Mars.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Magnetic “Switchback” Detected near Earth for First Time
Until recently, this type of zigzag shape—formed by energetic rearrangement of magnetic field lines—had been seen only near the Sun.
Posted inNews
This Star Stripped Off Its Layers Long Before Exploding
A star 2 billion light-years away apparently shed most of its outer layers before exploding, providing new insights into stellar structure—and new mysteries for astronomers to solve.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Why Subsequent ICMEs are More Geoeffective
A new study demonstrates how an interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) clears the path for following transients and explains why subsequent ICMEs are more geoeffective.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Orbiter Pair Expands View of Martian Ionosphere
Radio signals sent between two Mars orbiters—rather than between an orbiter and an Earth-based receiver—capture new insights into atmospheric dynamics.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Nudging Earth’s Ionosphere Helps Us Learn More About It
New observations and simulations capture the physics at play across each of the three main ionospheric regions.