Abstract
Full 3D plasma observations in the cusp observed by the Cluster and Polar satellites in the northern and southern hemispheres are used to track the location of the reconnection line at the magnetopause during southward interplanetary magnetic field conditions. The low velocity cutoffs in the flux measurements of the precipitating and the mirrored magneto-sheath population on open cusp field lines are used to estimate the distance of the observing satellite from the reconnection line. The calculated distance is subsequently traced back along model magnetic field lines to the magnetopause where the shear angle between the geomagnetic field and the draped interplanetary magnetic field is calculated. A series of cusp crossings during clock angles > 200° revealed that magnetic reconnection favors anti-parallel reconnection within ±20° to 30° of the south direction[1]. For smaller clock angles the reconnection site switches to a tilted X-line which crosses the component reconnection site in the sub-solar region.
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