TC1 and Cluster observation of an FTE on 4 January 2005: A close conjunction

J. Wang (1) , M.W. Dunlop (2) , Z. Pu (1) , Xin Zhou (1) , X. Zhang (1) , Y. Wei (3) , S. Y. Fu (1) , C. Xiao (4) , A. N. Fazakerley (5) , H. Laakso (6) , M. G. Taylor (6) , Y. Bogdanova (5) , Frederic Pitout (7) , J. A. Davies (2) , Q. Zong (8) , Chao Shen (9) , Z. Liu (9) , C. Carr (10) , C. Perry (2) , H. Reme (11) , I. Dandouras (11) , P. Escoubet (6) , C. J. Owen (5)

1 School of Earth and Space Sciences
2 RAL Space - Space Science and Technology Department [Didcot]
3 IGG - Institute of Geology and Geophysics [Beijing]
4 NAOC - National Astronomical Observatories [Beijing]
5 MSSL - Mullard Space Science Laboratory
6 Space Science Department of ESA
7 MPE - Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik
8 UMLCAR - Center for Atmospheric Research [Lowell]
9 SKSW - State Key Laboratory of Space Weather [Beijing]
10 Space and Atmospheric Physics Group [London]
11 CESR - Centre d'étude spatiale des rayonnements

Observations of a Flux Transfer Event (FTE) signature at the dayside magnetopause are reported, which was consecutively observed on 4 January 2005 by both the Double Star/TC1 spacecraft and the Cluster quartet, while the spacecraft were traversing through the northern-dusk magnetopause. The event occurred as a magnetosheath FTE first at the Cluster spacecraft at about 07:13 UT on 4 January 2005 and crossed each of the others within 2 minutes. The spatial separations between the Cluster spacecraft were of the order of 200 km. The TC1 signature occurred about 108s after Cluster. All findings including magnetic fluxes, orientations and hot ion velocity distributions strongly suggest that Cluster and TC1 encountered the magnetosheath branch of the same flux tube at two different positions along its length and this is borne out by computation of the expected time delay. Four-spacecraft timing is used to obtain the velocity of FTE.

Keywords: PLASMA ELECTRON; SOLAR-WIND; MAGNETOPAUSE; MAGNETOSPHERE; RECONNECTION; PERFORMANCE; INSTRUMENT; SPACECRAFT; EVENTS

Domains: Sciences of the Universe [physics]

J. Wang, M.W. Dunlop, Z. Pu, Xin Zhou, X. Zhang, et al.. TC1 and Cluster observation of an FTE on 4 January 2005: A close conjunction. Geophysical Research Letters, 2007, 34 (3), pp.L03106. ⟨10.1029/2006GL028241⟩. ⟨insu-00359676⟩