The out flowing plasma from the sun's atmosphere called the solar wind, continuously bombards the
Earth's magnetosphere. The high velocity of the solar wind results in the formation of a bow shock
upstream of the magnetosphere. The solar wind is heated and slowed as it crosses the bow shock forming
the magnetosheath. It is within this region that directly contacts the magnetosphere that the transfer of solar
wind mass and energy into the magnetosphere occurs. The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) convected
via the solar wind into the magnetosheath drapes around the outer boundary of the magnetosphere, known
as the magnetopause. Where the orientation of the magnetic field within the magnetosheath is opposite to
the magnetosphere the two field lines can merge together thereby allowing direct entry of solar wind
plasma into the magnetosphere.
INTERBALL Tail was launched into an inclined elliptical orbit on the nn of mmm 1995 with an orbital
period of XXX. This orbit allows INTERBALL Tail to observe the magnetopause for extended periods.
The extensive suite of scientific instrumentation carried aboard Polar is used to study the detailed nature of
the bow shock magnetosheath and magnetopause and the transport of mass and energy across these regions.
Research
One of the principal limitations of making observations from a single spacecraft is that these observations
are from a single point. Since this observation point is in motion, orbiting the Earth, there is an inherent
uncertainty nature of any observation. The observation could be of a spatial effect; the movement of the
observation point from one region to another or of a temporal effect; the characteristics of the region have
varied. Observations from more that one point can resolve this ambiguity. To this end INTERBALL Tail
and Polar spacecraft data have been used in conjunction to differentiate spatial and temporal phenomena.
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