magnetic reconnection

The observed dependence of geomagnetic activity on the orientation of the IMF is explained by most researchers as a consequence of magnetic reconnection. In reconnection, two oppositely directed magnetic fields are brought together by flowing plasmas at an x-type neutral line. Far from…

…fields through the process of magnetic reconnection, its exact formation mechanism is not yet understood.

…magnetosphere through the process of magnetic reconnection—the same process responsible for the formation of CMEs. If the IMF or the magnetic field inside a CME has a strong southward component, it can efficiently couple with the northward-pointing geomagnetic field, releasing much energy, transferring the mass and momentum of the solar…

…field through the mechanism of magnetic reconnection. The energy carried in a fast CME is approximately the same as that released in a solar flare.

…mass, and momentum flow is magnetic reconnection, which can explosively convert magnetic energy into kinetic energy of the magnetospheric plasma and disconnect or break parcels of magnetic flux. On Earth’s dayside, magnetic reconnection takes place at the intersection of solar magnetic field lines with those of Earth’s magnetic field. In…