High-resolution optical observations of aurorae show fluctuations and structuring that could be explained by interactions between electrons and a plasma phenomenon called Alfvén waves.
plasmas
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Presumed Role of Chorus Waves Out of Tune with New Data
Distinctive plasma ripples are thought to play a big role in electron loss from Earth’s radiation belts, but a new study suggests a more limited influence.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
How the 2024 Solar Superstorm Drained Earth’s Radiation Belt
Researchers dig into storm processes linked to dramatic electron loss from the outer Van Allen belt.
Posted inNews
Sharpest-Ever Image of the Sun Shows Small but Mighty Swirls
These tiny instabilities could play an outsized role in energizing the Sun’s corona.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
The Economic Costs of Solar Storms
Though less present in the public consciousness than hurricanes and wildfires, space weather represents a real and potentially significant threat to society.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
The Magnetic Face of Plasma Irregularities on Mars
Plasma density irregularity is nothing new on Mars, but the accompanying magnetic field irregularity observed on NASA’s MAVEN satellite is.
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.