The Cluster Magnetic Field Investigation: overview of in-flight performance and initial results

By A. Balogh, C. Carr, Mario H. Acuna, M. Dunlop, T. Beek, P. Brown, K. Fornacon, E. Georgescu, Karl-Heinz Glassmeier, J. Harris and 3 more. 2001

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Abstract. The accurate measurement of the magnetic field along the orbits of the four Cluster spacecraft is a primary objective of the mission. The magnetic field is a key constituent of the plasma in and around the magnetosphere, and it plays an active role in all physical processes that define the structure and dynamics of magnetospheric phenomena on all scales. With the four-point measurements on Cluster, it has become possible to study the three-dimensional aspects of space plasma phenomena on scales commeasurable with the size of the spacecraft constellation, and to distinguish temporal and spatial dependences of small-scale processes. We present an overview of the instrumentation used to measure the magnetic field on the four Cluster spacecraft and an overview the performance of the operational modes used in flight. We also report on the results of the preliminary in-orbit calibration of the magnetometers; these results show that all components of the magnetic field are measured with an accuracy approaching 0.1 nT. Further data analysis is expected to bring an even more accurate determination of the calibration parameters. Several examples of the capabilities of the investigation are presented from the commissioning phase of the mission, and from the different regions visited by the spacecraft to date: the tail current sheet, the dusk side magnetopause and magnetosheath, the bow shock and the cusp. We also describe the data processing flow and the implementation of data distribution to other Cluster investigations and to the scientific community in general. Key words. Interplanetary physics (instruments and techniques) – magnetospheric physics (magnetospheric configuration and dynamics) – space plasma physics (shock waves)

Subfields: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Molecular Biology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/fa1d544e69d4fdf32e4b2ca18420f264b89c8897

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Citations in the corpus

Average properties of the magnetic reconnection ion diffusion region in the Earth's magnetotail: The 2001–2005 Cluster observations and comparison with simulations (2009, methodology): “[9] In this study we have used magnetic field data from the Flux‐Gate Magnetometer (FGM) experiment [Balogh et al., 2001].”
Energetic electron acceleration in the downstream reconnection outflow region (2007, neutral): “Balogh, and H. Rème (2007),”
Cluster observations of reconnection due to the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability at the dawnside magnetospheric flank (2006, methodology): “We would also like to thank all Cluster FGM and CIS team members for making this study possible.”
A wavy twisted neutral sheet observed by CLUSTER (2002, background): “[1] From July to October 2001, the Cluster satellites were located within the magnetotail and crossings of the neutral sheet were frequently observed by the FGM instrument [Balogh et al., 2001].”
Cluster observations of continuous reconnection at the magnetopause under steady interplanetary magnetic field conditions (2004, methodology): “, 2001), magnetic field (FGM) (Balogh et al., 2001) and electric field (EFW) (Gustafsson et al.”
The THEMIS Fluxgate Magnetometer (2008, methodology): “Experience from magnetometer experiments on more recent missions such as Freja (Zanetti et al. 1994), Equator-S (Fornacon et al. 1999), Cluster (Balogh et al. 2001), Cassini (Dougherty et al. 2004), Double Star (Carr et al. 2005), VenusExpress (Zhang et al. 2006), or Rosetta (Auster et al. 2007;…”
Cluster observations of electron holes in association with magnetotail reconnection and comparison to simulations (2005, methodology): “Themagnetic field measurements are from the FGM instrument [Balogh et al., 2001].”
A statistical and event study of magnetotail dipolarization fronts (2011, methodology): “For the event selection, we used the 4-s averaged magnetic field data obtained by the Flux Gate Magnetometer (FGM, Balogh et al., 2001) and plasma data from the Composition Ion Spectrometer (CIS,Rème et al., 2001) on Cluster 1, and throughout the paper the Geocentric Solar Magnetospheric (GSM)…”
Current sheet structure near magnetic X‐line observed by Cluster (2003, background): “FGM [Balogh et al., 2001] 1-s resolution data for 0947– 0951 UT are shown in Figures 1c–1e.”