If the observed reconnections were patchy, one or more spacecraft most likely would not have encountered an accelerated flow of particles. Furthermore, patchy and random reconnection events would have resulted in different spacecraft detecting jets directed in different directions, which was not the case. |
Only with coordinated measurements by sun-Earth connection spacecraft such as the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), Wind, and Cluster can we explore the space environment with unprecedented detail and in 3-D. The near-Earth space environment is the only natural laboratory where we can make direct measurements of the physics of explosive magnetic phenomena that occurs throughout the universe. |