Space physics articles within Nature Communications

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  • Comment
    | Open Access

    The exploration of our solar system is being radically changed since the beginning of operations of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in mid 2022. JWST’s extraordinary sensitivity and instrumentation allow for sensitive searches for the building blocks of life and to test for habitability, also enabling new discoveries on small bodies to giant planets across our solar system and beyond.

    • G. L. Villanueva
    •  & S. N. Milam

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How solar wind and ionosphere contribution to the plasma in the magnetosphere during the development of geomagnetic storms changes is an open question. Here, the authors show a dynamic source change during a storm from solar wind to the ionosphere as the storm develops.

    • L. M. Kistler
    • , K. Asamura
    •  & I. Shinohara

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mars lacks a global intrinsic magnetic field. Here, the authors show wedge-like dispersion structures of Hydrogen ions exhibiting butterfly-shaped distributions, which was previously found only in intrinsic magnetospheres.

    • Chi Zhang
    • , Hans Nilsson
    •  & Stas Barabash

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Polarization of decayless kink oscillations of solar coronal loops provide unique information about involved excitation mechanisms and energy supply, but its detection remains elusive. Here, the authors show horizontal and weakly oblique linear polarization of such oscillations, which favors the energy supply by quasi-steady flows.

    • Sihui Zhong
    • , Valery M. Nakariakov
    •  & David Berghmans

  • Article
    | Open Access

    BepiColombo mission had its first Mercury flyby on 1 October 2021. Here, the authors show plasma measurements taken during this flyby, which reveals that electron injections and subsequent energy-dependent drift is a universal mechanism generating aurorae in the planetary magnetospheres.

    • Sae Aizawa
    • , Yuki Harada
    •  & Go Murakami

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Although whistler-mode chorus waves are common in the Earth’s and other planetary magnetospheres, the mechanism behind fast frequency chirping is debated. Here, the authors show the presence of chorus emissions at Mars, with fundamentally the same nonlinear nature as those at Earth, despite vastly different magnetic and plasma conditions.

    • Shangchun Teng
    • , Yifan Wu
    •  & Xin Tao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Long-term space missions to the Moon and Mars rely on sunlight as an energy source. Here, authors assess the performance of monolithic photoelectrochemical devices for light-assisted O2 and fuel production on the Moon and Mars as potential complementary technologies to existing life support systems.

    • Byron Ross
    • , Sophia Haussener
    •  & Katharina Brinkert

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability (KHI) has been suggested as a significant source of geomagnetic activity during northward Interplanetary Magnetic Fields (IMF). Here, the authors show seasonal and diurnal variations of KHI at Earth’s magnetopause, highlighting the importance of Sun-earth geometry for space weather.

    • S. Kavosi
    • , J. Raeder
    •  & C. J. Farrugia

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Kinetic Alfven Waves (KAWs) are ubiquitous in space plasmas. Here, the authors show that application of particle sounding technique to Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission data enables measuring perpendicular wavelength of KAWs.

    • Z.-Y. Liu
    • , Q.-G. Zong
    •  & G. Le

  • Comment
    | Open Access

    NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission intentionally impacted the asteroid Dimorphos on September 26, 2022, and this kinetic impact changed Dimorphos’ orbit around its binary companion Didymos. This first planetary defense test explored technological readiness for this method of asteroid deflection.

    • Andrew S. Rivkin
    •  & Andrew F. Cheng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Scattering by the upper- and lower-band chorus waves are the dominant cause of diffuse auroral precipitation. Here, the authors show that the lower-band chorus alone satisfies the preferred condition for the generation of second harmonics to trigger the diffuse auroral electron precipitation.

    • Xiongdong Yu
    • , Zhigang Yuan
    •  & H. O. Funsten

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Magnetized plasmas display continuous spectra of current-sheet equilibria. How they select a particular equilibrium is not well understood. Now, equilibrium selection in magnetized plasmas is studied by analytical theory, particle-in-cell simulations and spacecraft observations, highlighting the role of current-sheet relaxation processes.

    • Young Dae Yoon
    • , Deirdre E. Wendel
    •  & Gunsu S. Yun

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) are frequently detected in solar and stellar flares, but the underlying physical mechanisms are still to be ascertained. Here, the authors show microwave QPPs during a solar flare originating from quasi-periodic magnetic reconnection at the flare current sheet.

    • Yuankun Kou
    • , Xin Cheng
    •  & Mingde Ding

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Metastable helium is a promising target for remote-sensing observations of Earth’s thermosphere. This paper reports on the development of a resonance lidar capable of resolving metastable helium density profiles and presents initial results

    • Bernd Kaifler
    • , Christopher Geach
    •  & Markus Rapp

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cross-scale energy transfers in collisionless plasmas help understanding involved mechanisms. Here, the authors show simultaneous macro- and micro-scale wave-ion interactions provide an efficient mechanism for cross-scale energy transfer and plasma energization in astrophysical and space plasmas.

    • Z.-Y. Liu
    • , Q.-G. Zong
    •  & G. Le

  • Article
    | Open Access

    It is suggested that waves can provide both diffusion and resistivity that can potentially support the reconnection electric field in low-density astrophysical plasmas. Here, the authors show, using direct spacecraft measurements, that the waves contribute to anomalous diffusion but do not contribute to the reconnection electric field.

    • D. B. Graham
    • , Yu. V. Khotyaintsev
    •  & K. Dokgo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Energetic electron densities in the radiation belt increases during geomagnetic storms. Here, the authors show oblique whistler mode waves enhance electron losses and create strong fluxes of about 100 keV electrons precipitating into the atmosphere, that should be considered in radiation belt models.

    • Xiao-Jia Zhang
    • , Anton Artemyev
    •  & Ayako Matsuoka

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Two extreme solar energetic particle events have been found by carbon isotopes measured in ancient tree rings in 7176 and 5259 BCE. The recorded ~2% increases of atmospheric 14 C for both events exceeds in amplitude of all previously observed events.

    • Nicolas Brehm
    • , Marcus Christl
    •  & Lukas Wacker

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ring currents have been observed in the magnetospheres of Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn. Here, the authors show observational evidence of Mercury’s ring current that is bifurcated because of the dayside off-equatorial magnetic minima.

    • J.-T. Zhao
    • , Q.-G. Zong
    •  & Y. Wei

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Solar flares provide wide range of observational details about fundamental processes involved. Here, the authors show evidence for magnetic reconnection in a strong confined solar flare displaying all four reconnection flows with plasmoids in the current sheet and the separatrices.

    • Xiaoli Yan
    • , Zhike Xue
    •  & Zhong Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Several mechanisms exist for formation of jets observed in Earth’s magnetosheath. Here, the authors show evidence of high-speed downstream flows generated at the Earth’s bow shock as a direct consequence of shock reformation, which is different than the proposed mechanisms.

    • Savvas Raptis
    • , Tomas Karlsson
    •  & Per-Arne Lindqvist

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Co-existence of several magnetohydrodynamic oscillations modes on the Sun were predicted earlier. Here, the authors show large-scale coherent oscillations in a sunspot, with a spectrum different than solar global acoustic oscillations, incorporating a superposition of many resonant wave modes.

    • M. Stangalini
    • , G. Verth
    •  & C. D. MacBride

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Twisted flux tubes are prominent candidates for the progenitors of solar active regions. Here, the authors show a clear signature of the emergence of pre-twisted magnetic flux tubes using magnetic winding, which detects the emerging magnetic topology despite the deformation experienced by the emerging magnetic field.

    • D. MacTaggart
    • , C. Prior
    •  & S. L. Guglielmino

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nonlinear wave mixing has been explored in space plasma. Here the authors report beat-wave Brillouin scattering experiment at EISCAT, in which two radio waves at different transmitted frequencies are driving ion acoustic waves in the ionosphere, leading to stimulated Brillouin emissions escaping the plasma.

    • B. Eliasson
    • , A. Senior
    •  & R. Bingham

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The magnetopause surface waves (SW) that drive global plasma dynamics are thought, like waves on water, to travel with the driving solar wind. Here, the authors show that impulsively-excited SW, with standing structure along the geomagnetic field, are stationary by propagating against this flow.

    • M. O. Archer
    • , M. D. Hartinger
    •  & L. Rastaetter

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Superbolts are powerful, rare lightning events. Here, the authors show simultaneous satellite and ground measurements of a superbolt, and demonstrate different properties of superbolts and lightnings.

    • J.-F. Ripoll
    • , T. Farges
    •  & S. Pédeboy

  • Article
    | Open Access

    It was predicted that Alfvén waves can account for the acceleration of precipitating auroral electrons. Here, the authors show laboratory measurements of the resonant transfer of energy from Alfvén waves to electrons under conditions relevant to the auroral zone as a direct test.

    • J. W. R. Schroeder
    • , G. G. Howes
    •  & S. Dorfman

  • Article
    | Open Access

    During geomagnetic substorms, the energy accumulated from solar wind is abruptly transported to ionosphere. Here, the authors show application of community detection on the time-varying networks constructed from all magnetometers collaborating with the SuperMAG initiative.

    • L. Orr
    • , S. C. Chapman
    •  & W. Guo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Hurricanes in the Earth’s low atmosphere are known, but not detected in the upper atmosphere earlier. Here, the authors show a long-lasting hurricane in the polar ionosphere and magnetosphere with large energy and momentum deposition despite otherwise extremely quiet conditions.

    • Qing-He Zhang
    • , Yong-Liang Zhang
    •  & Li-Dong Xia

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Seasonally averaged energy input into the ionosphere from geospace is generally considered to be symmetric. Here, the authors show preference for electromagnetic energy input at 450 km altitude into the northern hemisphere, on both the dayside and the nightside, when averaged over season.

    • I. P. Pakhotin
    • , I. R. Mann
    •  & D. J. Knudsen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Very-Low-Frequency (VLF) communication transmitters, operate worldwide, radiate emissions at particular frequencies 10-30 kHz. Here, the authors show VLF transmitter emissions that leak from the Earth’s ground are primarily responsible for bifurcating the energetic electron belt over 20–100 keV.

    • Man Hua
    • , Wen Li
    •  & Geoffrey D. Reeves

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Electrons in the Van Allen radiation belts can have energies in excess of 7 MeV, however, the energization mechanism is debated. Here, the authors show phase space density peaks in magnetic coordinate space as a way of analyzing satellite observations which demonstrates that local acceleration is capable of heating electrons up to 7 MeV.

    • Hayley J. Allison
    •  & Yuri Y. Shprits

  • Comment
    | Open Access

    Knowing about the diversity of planetary processes is of paramount importance for understanding our planet Earth. An integrated, comparative planetology approach is required to combine space missions, autonomous surface exploration, sample return laboratories, and after-mission data exploitation.

    • Karl-Heinz Glassmeier

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