• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2015

Earth's magnetopause separating the fast and often turbulent magnetosheath and the relatively stagnant magnetosphere provides various forms of free energy that generate low-frequency surface waves. The source mechanism of this energy includes current-driven kinetic physical processes such as magnetic reconnection on the dayside magnetopause and flux transfer events drifting along the magnetopause, and velocity shear-driven (Kelvin-Helmholtz instability) or density/pressure gradient-driven (Rayleigh-Taylor instability) magnetohydro-dynamics (MHD) instabilities. The solar wind external perturbations (impulsive transient pressure pulses or quasi-periodic dynamic pressure variations) act as seed fluctuations for the magnetopause waves and trigger ULF pulsations inside the magnetosphere via global modes or mode conversion at the magnetopause. The magnetopause waves thus play an important role in the solar wind-magnetosphere coupling, which is the key to space weather. This paper presents recent findings regarding the generation of surface waves (e.g., Kelvin-Helmholtz waves) at the Earth's magnetopause and analytic and observational studies accountable for the linking of the magnetopause waves and inner magnetospheric ULF pulsations, and the impacts of magnetopause waves on the dynamics of the magnetopause and on the inner magnetosphere.

• Bulletin of the Korean Space Science Society
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• 2001.04a
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• pp.28-28
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• 2001

No Abstract, See Full Text

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.44.3-45
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• 2016

In this study, we identify 307 the geosynchronous magnetopause crossing (GMC) using geosynchronous satellite observation data from 1996 to 2010 as well as make an observational test of magnetopause location models using the identified events. For this, we consider three models: Petrinec and Russell (1996), Shue et al. (1998), and Lin et al. (2010). To evaluate the models, we estimate a Probability of Detection (PoD) and a Critical Success Index (CSI) as a function of year. To examine the effect of solar cycle phase, we consider three different time periods: (1) ascending phase (1996-1999), (2) maximum phase (2000-2002), and (3) descending phase (2003-2008). Major results from this study are as follows. First, the PoD values of all models range from 0.6 to 1.0 for the most of years. Second, the PoD values of Lin et al. (2010) are noticeably higher than those of the other models. Third, the CSI values of all models range from 0.3 to 0.6 and those of Shue et al. (1998) are slightly higher than those of the other models. Fourth, the predicted magnetopause radius based on Lin et al.(2010) well match the observed one within one earth radius, while that on Shue et al. (1998) overestimate the observed one by about 2 earth radii. Fifth, the PoD and CSI values of all the models are better for the solar maximum phase than those for the other phases, implying that the models are more optimized for the phase.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.122-122
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• 2012

Geosynchronous electron flux dropouts are most likely due to fast drift loss of the particles to the magnetopause (or equivalently, the "magnetopause shadowing effect"). A possible effect related to the drift loss is the radial diffusion of PSD due to gradient of PSD set by the drift loss effect at an outer L region. This possibly implies that the drift loss can affect the flux levels even inside the trapping boundary. We recently investigated the details of such diffusion process by solving the diffusion equation with a set of initial and boundary conditions set by the drift loss. Motivated by the simulation work, we have examined observationally the energy spectrum and pitch angle distribution near trapping boundary during the geosynchronous flux dropouts. For this work, we have first identified a list of geosynchronous flux dropout events for 2007-2010 from GOES satellite electron measurements and solar wind pressures observed by ACE satellite. We have then used the electron data from the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) spacecraft measurements to investigate the particle fluxes. The five THEMIS spacecraft sufficiently cover the inner magnetospheric regions near the equatorial plane and thus provide us with data of much higher spatial resolution. In this paper, we report some case studies showing energy dependence during magnetopause shadowing effect.

• Bulletin of the Korean Space Science Society
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• 2010.04a
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• pp.40.2-40.2
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• 2010

It has been reported that geosynchronous magnetopause crossings are more frequently observed in the prenoon sector than in the postnoon sector, indicating a dawn-dusk magnetopause asymmetry during extreme solar wind conditions. Motivated by these observations, we investigate geosynchronous magnetic field variations normalized to SYM-H when sudden commencements (SC) are observed on the ground. From a statistical analysis of the geosynchronous magnetic field responses to SC events from 1997 to 2006, we found that the normalized SC amplitude at geosynchronous orbit is larger in the morning sector than in the afternoon sector. In order to examine if this morning-afternoon asymmetry at geosynchronous orbit occurs only during disturbed geomagnetic conditions, we compared the geosynchronous magnetic field strength obtained in the morning and afternoon during undisturbed intervals (Kp < 3). We found that the asymmetry appears under undisturbed geomagnetic conditions and it is not due to solar wind aberration. This indicates that the morning-afternoon asymmetry was not strongly affected by changes in solar wind condition. Using solar wind data, we discuss what causes the morning-afternoon asymmetry at geosynchronous orbit.

• Bulletin of the Korean Space Science Society
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.39-39
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• 2004

It has been known that ring current particles can be lost through dayside MP(magnetopause). However, details of the loss mechanism of this process has not received much attention. In this study, we show that the solar wind dynamic pressure P$\sub$D/ can play a significant role in the dayside loss. In order to show that, we have first conducted superposed epoch analysis using 95 geomagnetic storm events selected from the period 1997 to 2002. (omitted)

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.90.2-90.2
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• 2012

Geosynchronous electron flux dropouts are most likely due to fast drift loss of the particles to the magnetopause (or equivalently, the "magnetopause shadowing effect"). A possible effect related to the drift loss is the radial diffusion of PSD due to gradient of PSD set by the drift loss effect at an outer L region. This possibly implies that the drift loss can affect the flux levels even inside the trapping boundary. We recently investigated the details of such diffusion process by solving the diffusion equation with a set of initial and boundary conditions set by the drift loss. Motivated by the simulation work, we have examined observationally the energy spectrum and pitch angle distribution near trapping boundary during the geosynchronous flux dropouts. For this work, we have first identified a list of geosynchronous flux dropout events for 2007-2010 from GOES satellite electron measurements and solar wind pressures observed by ACE satellite. We have then used the electron data from the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) spacecraft measurements to investigate the particle fluxes. The five THEMIS spacecraft sufficiently cover the inner magnetospheric regions near the equatorial plane and thus provide us with data of much higher spatial resolution. In this paper, we report the results of our investigations on the energy spectrum and pitch angle distribution near trapping boundary during the geosynchronous flux dropout events and discuss implications on the effects of the drift loss on the flux levels at inner L regions.

• Bulletin of the Korean Space Science Society
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.33-33
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• 2003

A clear bipolar (negative/positive) signature in the Ey component was observed by the Cluster satellite in the magnetotail during a sudden impulse (si) on October 11, 2001 (day 284). During the interval of the negative perturbation in Ey, the magnetic field strength in Bx, a dominant magnetic field component, was nearly constant. However, the amplitude of Bx was strongly enhanced during the positive Ey perturbation. We suggest that the observed E and B field variations are due to outward/inward plasma motions, associated with expanded and then compressed magnetopause variations. We also observed quasi-periodic geomagnetic perturbations in the Pc5 band (∼1-6 mHz) at the low-latitude ground station Kakioka (L = 1.25) following the si event. They were highly correlated with the magnetic field perturbations at Cluster in the magnetotail (Xgse = ∼12 Re). We show that the source of these perturbations is the quasi-periodic solar wind pressure variations moving tailward.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.35-42
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• 2020

Particle-in-cell simulations were performed to understand the interaction of the solar wind with localized magnetic fields on the sunlit surface of the Moon. The results indicated a mini-magnetosphere was formed which had a thin magnetopause with the thickness of the electron skin depth. It was also found that the solar wind penetrated into the cavity of the magnetosphere intermittently rather than in a steady manner. The solar wind that moved around the magnetosphere was observed to hit the surface of the Moon, implying that it may be the cause of the lunar swirl formation on the surface.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.27-36
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• 2011

The present study examines the morning-afternoon asymmetry of the geosynchronous magnetic field strength on the dayside (magnetic local time [MLT] = 06:00~18:00) using observations by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) over a period of 9 years from February 1998 to January 2007. During geomagnetically quiet time (Kp < 3), we observed that a peak of the magnetic field strength is skewed toward the earlier local times (11:07~11:37 MLT) with respect to local noon and that the geosynchronous field strength is larger in the morning sector than in the afternoon sector. That is, there is the morning-afternoon asymmetry of the geosynchronous magnetic field strength. Using solar wind data, it is confirmed that the morning-afternoon asymmetry is not associated with the aberration effect due to the orbital motion of the Earth about the Sun. We found that the peak location of the magnetic field strength is shifted toward the earlier local times as the ratio of the magnetic field strength at MLT = 18 (B-dusk) to the magnetic field strength at MLT = 06 (B-dawn) is decreasing. It is also found that the dawn-dusk magnetic field median ratio, B-dusk/B-dawn, is decreasing as the solar wind dynamic pressure is increasing. The morning-afternoon asymmetry of the magnetic field strength appears in Tsyganenko geomagnetic field model (TS-04 model) when the partial ring current is included in TS-04 model. Unlike our observations, however, TS-04 model shows that the peak location of the magnetic field strength is shifted toward local noon as the solar wind dynamic pressure grows in magnitude. This may be due to that the symmetric magnetic field associated with the magnetopause current, strongly affected by the solar wind dynamic pressure, increases. However, the partial ring current is not affected as much as the magnetopause current by the solar wind dynamic pressure in TS-04 model. Thus, our observations suggest that the contribution of the partial ring current at geosynchronous orbit is much larger than that expected from TS-04 model as the solar wind dynamic pressure increases.