Abstract
New images from the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission capture for the first time part of Earth's magnetosphere. The new observations, described byMcComas et al., provide the first images of the extended terrestrial plasma sheet, the sheet separating the north and south lobes of the magnetosphere. The plasma sheet cannot be seen in images in visible light; the IBEX images were created using detections of energetic neutral atoms. One of the images captured what appears to be a magnetic disconnection event, in which magnetic field lines tear and part of the plasma sheet pinches off from the rest. These types of disconnections release energy and can cause charged particles to be accelerated toward Earth, potentially disrupting satellites. This is the first time that a plasma sheet disconnection event may have been directly seen. (Journal of Geophysical Research‐Space Physics, doi:10.1029/2010JA016138, 2011)
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