Abstract Magnetic reconnection takes place in the magnetotail of the Earth and it plays key roles in the formation of the plasma sheet and in the energy release during substorms. Three types of reconnection phenomena have been identified. These are, reconnection in the distant tail (> 100 Re), reconnection in the near tail (20 – 30 Re) associated with substorms, and formation of distributed magnetic loops in the neutral sheet. We review (1) signatures of each type of reconnection, (2) the structure of the energy conversion region with particular attention on the distinction between accelerations at the slow shock and in the neutral sheet, and (3) the condition for the onset of reconnection.
Magnetic reconnection in the tail of the magnetosphere
Advances in Space Research ; 10 , 9 ; 135-144
1990-01-01
10 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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