Disturbances in the solar wind and the magnetosphere observed during Bepicolombo’s Earth flyby
Presentation Type
Talk
Presenter Format
In Person Meeting Talk
Topic
System Science
Start Date
12-5-2022 1:00 PM
Abstract
The joint European-Japanese mission BepiColombo performed an Earth flyby on 10 April 2020 to adjust its trajectory to Mercury. While the cruise configuration of BepiColombo did not allow their full operability, several instruments were switched on including magnetic field measurements, ion and electron sensors, and energetic particle detectors, with limited operation capability. Bepicolombo approached the post-noon bow shock and observed the first magnetosheath encounter around 23:20UT on 9 April and its closest approach at Earth too place around 4 UT at radial distance of about 3 RE in the post midnight region. The spacecraft then traversed the near Earth’s magnetotail at 9 RE downtail toward dusk and exit the magnetosphere at around 16 UT on April 10. Combining data from the magnetospheric spacecraft fleet, MMS, Geotail, THEMIS, Cluster, Arase, and Goes and from the quick magnetospheric traversal of BepiColombo several interesting event studies on the foreshock, magnetopause, radiation belt, night-side magnetosphere and magnetospheric boundaries have been ongoing/completed. In this presentation we highlight selected topics from these studies on foreshock waves, flux ropes, and night side magnetospheric dynamics during a substorm.
Disturbances in the solar wind and the magnetosphere observed during Bepicolombo’s Earth flyby
The joint European-Japanese mission BepiColombo performed an Earth flyby on 10 April 2020 to adjust its trajectory to Mercury. While the cruise configuration of BepiColombo did not allow their full operability, several instruments were switched on including magnetic field measurements, ion and electron sensors, and energetic particle detectors, with limited operation capability. Bepicolombo approached the post-noon bow shock and observed the first magnetosheath encounter around 23:20UT on 9 April and its closest approach at Earth too place around 4 UT at radial distance of about 3 RE in the post midnight region. The spacecraft then traversed the near Earth’s magnetotail at 9 RE downtail toward dusk and exit the magnetosphere at around 16 UT on April 10. Combining data from the magnetospheric spacecraft fleet, MMS, Geotail, THEMIS, Cluster, Arase, and Goes and from the quick magnetospheric traversal of BepiColombo several interesting event studies on the foreshock, magnetopause, radiation belt, night-side magnetosphere and magnetospheric boundaries have been ongoing/completed. In this presentation we highlight selected topics from these studies on foreshock waves, flux ropes, and night side magnetospheric dynamics during a substorm.
