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[28.08.2008]
The mechanism underlying the escape of oxygen ions from Earth has been unveiled with the help of data from the Cluster constellation of spacecraft |
| Cluster examines Earth-escaping ions |
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[11.08.2008]
A 3-D "magnetic snapshot" of the heart of a magnetic reconnection region has been obtained in-situ by the four satellites of the ESA Cluster mission, at one-third of the distance to the Moon from Earth. |
| Electron trapping within reconnection |
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[27.06.2008]
A recent study, using Cluster data, reveals how the most powerful emission of terrestrial origin, Auroral Kilometric Radiation, is beamed into space. The result has important implications for radio studies of magnetospheres of planets. |
| Beamed radio emission from Earth |
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[09.06.2008]
Some of the most explosive phenomena in the Universe are due to a physical process known as magnetic reconnection. Fundamental aspects of this process are still not fully understood but new advances, using Cluster data, have recently been reported by a team led by scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. |
| Reconnection - Triggered by Whistlers? |
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[07.03.2008]
In-situ observations by the multiple Cluster spacecraft, together with numerical simulations, form the first ever confirmation of the occurence of solitary waves in Earth's magnetopause and explain the spontaneous generation of these waves |
| Solitons found in the magnetopause |
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| The four Cluster satellites
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| LAUNCH DATES: |
16-Jul-2000 12:39 UT and 09-Aug-2000 11:13 UT
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| MISSION END: | December 2009 |
| LAUNCH VEHICLE: | 2 Russian Soyuz launchers, each with a Fregat upper stage. |
| LAUNCH MASS: | 4800 kg |
| MISSION PHASE: |
Operational |
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Elliptical polar orbit, period: 57 hours
Perigee: 19 000 km, apogee: 119 000 km |
The four Cluster spacecraft are providing a detailed three-dimensional map of the magnetosphere, with surprising results |
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Cluster is currently investigating the Earth's magnetic environment and its interaction with the solar wind in three dimensions. Science output from Cluster greatly advances our knowledge of space plasma physics, space weather and the Sun-Earth connection and has been key in improving the modeling of the magnetosphere and understanding its various physical processes. |
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