MIST

Magnetosphere, Ionosphere and Solar-Terrestrial

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Announcement of New MIST Councillors.

We are very pleased to announce the following members of the community have been elected unopposed to MIST Council:

  • Rosie Johnson (Aberystwyth University), MIST Councillor
  • Matthew Brown (University of Birmingham), MIST Councillor
  • Chiara Lazzeri (MSSL, UCL), Student Representative

Rosie, Matthew, and Chiara will begin their terms in July. This will coincide with Jasmine Kaur Sandhu, Beatriz Sanchez-Cano, and Sophie Maguire outgoing as Councillors.

The current composition of Council can be found on our website, and this will be amended in July to reflect this announcement (https://www.mist.ac.uk/community/mist-council).

Nominations are open for MIST Council

We are very pleased to open nominations for MIST Council. There are three positions available (detailed below), and elected candidates would join Georgios Nicolaou, Andy Smith, Maria-Theresia Walach, and Emma Woodfield on Council. The nomination deadline is Friday 31 May.

Council positions open for nomination

2 x MIST Councillor - a three year term (2024 - 2027). Everyone is eligible.

MIST Student Representative - a one year term (2024 - 2025). Only PhD students are eligible. See below for further details.

About being on MIST Council

If you would like to find out more about being on Council and what it can involve, please feel free to email any of us (email contacts below) with any of your informal enquiries! You can also find out more about MIST activities at mist.ac.uk. Two of our outgoing councillors, Beatriz and Sophie, have summarised their experiences being on MIST Council below.

Beatriz Sanchez-Cano (MIST Councillor):

"Being part of the MIST council for the last 3 years has been a great experience personally and professionally, in which I had the opportunity to know better our community and gain a larger perspective of the matters that are important for the MIST science progress in the UK. During this time, I’ve participated in a number of activities and discussions, such as organising the monthly MIST seminars, Autumn MIST meetings, writing A&G articles, and more importantly, being there to support and advise our colleagues in cases of need together with the wonderful council members. MIST is a vibrant and growing community, and the council is a faithful reflection of it."

Sophie Maguire (MIST Student Representative):

"Being the student representative for MIST council has been an amazing experience. I have been part of organizing conferences, chairing sessions, and writing grant applications based on the feedback MIST has received. From a wider perspective, MIST has helped to grow and support my professional networks which in turn, directly benefits my PhD work as well. I would encourage any PhD student to apply for the role of MIST Student Representative and I would be happy to answer any questions or queries you have about the role."

How to nominate

If you would like to stand for election or you are nominating someone else (with their agreement!) please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Friday 31 May. If there is a surplus of nominations for a role, then an online vote will be carried out with the community. Please include the following details in the nomination:

  1. Name
  2. Position (Councillor/Student Rep.)
  3. Nomination Statement (150 words max including a bit about the nominee and focusing on your reasons for nominating. This will be circulated to the community in the event of a vote.)

MIST Council details

  • Sophie Maguire, University of Birmingham, Earth's ionosphere - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
  • Georgios Nicolaou, MSSL, solar wind plasma - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
  • Beatriz Sanchez-Cano, University of Leicester, Mars plasma - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • Jasmine Kaur Sandhu, University of Leicester, Earth’s inner magnetosphere - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • Andy Smith, Northumbria University, Space Weather - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
  • Maria-Theresia Walach, Lancaster University, Earth’s ionosphere - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
  • Emma Woodfield, British Antarctic Survey, radiation belts - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
  • MIST Council email - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Winners of Rishbeth Prizes 2023

We are pleased to announce that following Spring MIST 2023 the Rishbeth Prizes this year are awarded to Sophie Maguire (University of Birmingham) and Rachel Black (University of Exeter).

Sophie wins the prize for the best MIST student talk which was entitled “Large-scale plasma structures and scintillation in the high-latitude ionosphere”. Rachel wins the best MIST poster prize, for a poster entitled “Investigating different methods of chorus wave identification within the radiation belts”. Congratulations to both Sophie and Rachel!

As prize winners, Sophie and Rachel will be invited to write articles for Astronomy & Geophysics, which we look forward to reading.

MIST Council extends their thanks to the University of Birmingham for hosting the Spring MIST meeting 2023, and to the Royal Astronomical Society for their generous and continued support of the Rishbeth Prizes.

Nominations for MIST Council

We are pleased to open nominations for MIST Council. There are two positions available (detailed below), and elected candidates would join Beatriz Sanchez-Cano, Jasmine Kaur Sandhu, Andy Smith, Maria-Theresia Walach, and Emma Woodfield on Council. The nomination deadline is Friday 26 May.

Council positions open for nomination

  • MIST Councillor - a three year term (2023 - 2026). Everyone is eligible.
  • MIST Student Representative - a one year term (2023 - 2024). Only PhD students are eligible. See below for further details.

About being on MIST Council


If you would like to find out more about being on Council and what it can involve, please feel free to email any of us (email contacts below) with any of your informal enquiries! You can also find out more about MIST activities at mist.ac.uk.

Rosie Hodnett (current MIST Student Representative) has summarised their experience on MIST Council below:
"I have really enjoyed being the PhD representative on the MIST council and would like to encourage other PhD students to nominate themselves for the position. Some of the activities that I have been involved in include leading the organisation of Autumn MIST, leading the online seminar series and I have had the opportunity to chair sessions at conferences. These are examples of what you could expect to take part in whilst being on MIST council, but the council will welcome any other ideas you have. If anyone has any questions, please email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..”

How to nominate

If you would like to stand for election or you are nominating someone else (with their agreement!) please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Friday 26 May. If there is a surplus of nominations for a role, then an online vote will be carried out with the community. Please include the following details in the nomination:
  • Name
  • Position (Councillor/Student Rep.)
  • Nomination Statement (150 words max including a bit about the nominee and your reasons for nominating. This will be circulated to the community in the event of a vote.)
 
MIST Council contact details

Rosie Hodnett - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Mathew Owens - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Beatriz Sanchez-Cano - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jasmine Kaur Sandhu - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Andy Smith - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Maria-Theresia Walach - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Emma Woodfield - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
MIST Council email - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

RAS Awards

The Royal Astronomical Society announced their award recipients last week, and MIST Council would like to congratulate all that received an award. In particular, we would like to highlight the following members of the MIST Community, whose work has been recognised:
  • Professor Nick Achilleos (University College London) - Chapman Medal
  • Dr Oliver Allanson (University of Birmingham) - Fowler Award
  • Dr Ravindra Desai (University of Warwick) - Winton Award & RAS Higher Education Award
  • Professor Marina Galand (Imperial College London) - James Dungey Lecture
Full details can be found here: https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/news/royal-astronomical-society-unveils-2023-award-winners.

Plasma observations in the high-latitude and distant magnetotail associated with cusp-aligned arcs during intervals of northward IMF

By Michaela Mooney and Steve Milan (University of Leicester)

During periods of northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), the magnetospheric structure and dynamics are dramatically different and less understood compared to the southward IMF case.

Under northward IMF magnetic reconnection occurs at higher latitudes tailward of the cusp, known as lobe reconnection (Dungey, 1963). Lobe reconnection can occur on the same IMF field line in both hemispheres, known as dual lobe reconnection. It is thought that dual lobe reconnection can result in either the partial or complete closure of the magnetosphere (Milan et al., 2022). The auroral oval is also contracted to higher latitudes reflecting the reduced open flux content of the magnetosphere. The auroral emission is dimmer and distinct auroral features are observed poleward of the auroral oval such as cusp-aligned arcs, horse collar aurora and transpolar arcs.

Using Cluster and ARTEMIS in-situ data, we examined a period of prolonged northward IMF during which multiple instances of cusp-aligned arcs were observed poleward of the auroral oval. The Cluster observations showed trapped plasma on closed flux in the high latitude magnetotail (|ZGSE| ~ 13 RE) in regions which would typically be expected to be open magnetotail lobe void of plasma under southward IMF. Meanwhile, the ARTEMIS spacecraft observed simultaneous high electron and ion fluxes in the distant magnetotail (XGSE ~ - 60 RE). The plasma in both magnetotail regions was observed coincidently with observations of cusp-aligned arcs in the auroral data. We interpret these observations of trapped plasma on closed field lines as providing the source population for the cusp-aligned arc emission in the polar region.

During this interval we suggest that the magnetosphere was almost entirely closed as a result of dual lobe reconnection. The magnetotail is closed or partially closed but extends at least as far as ∼ 60 RE downtail. The occurrence of plasma in the magnetotail and the closure of the magnetosphere resulted in distinct changes to the magnetotail structure including a reduction in the magnetic field strength and pressure as well as a narrowing of the tail by approximately 20 RE.

Top left: Cluster and Artemis orbits during interval of northward IMF. The blue dashed line shows the average location of the neutral sheet. Lower left: observations of cusp-aligned arcs observed by DMSP SSUSI during the interval which occurred coincident with observations of trapped plasma in the magnetotail. Right: Interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), geomagnetic index data and in-situ observations from Artemis and Cluster. The blue boxes indicate times when cusp-aligned arcs were observed in the polar region. Panels (a) and (b) show in the upstream IMF components and clock angle from OMNI data, (c) shows the modelled magnetic field encountered by the Artemis spacecraft in the magnetotail using the Tsyganenko model, (d) – (g) show the in-situ magnetic field, ion velocity, plasma density and pressure observed by Artemis, (h) – (i) show the in-sity electron and ion fluxes observed by Artemis, (j) shows the in-situ ion flux observed by Cluster, (k) shows the AU/AL index data to provide context of substorm occurrence.
Top left: Cluster and Artemis orbits during interval of northward IMF. The blue dashed line shows the average location of the neutral sheet. Lower left: observations of cusp-aligned arcs observed by DMSP SSUSI during the interval which occurred coincident with observations of trapped plasma in the magnetotail. Right: Interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), geomagnetic index data and in-situ observations from Artemis and Cluster. The blue boxes indicate times when cusp-aligned arcs were observed in the polar region. Panels (a) and (b) show in the upstream IMF components and clock angle from OMNI data, (c) shows the modelled magnetic field encountered by the Artemis spacecraft in the magnetotail using the Tsyganenko model, (d) – (g) show the in-situ magnetic field, ion velocity, plasma density and pressure observed by Artemis, (h) – (i) show the in-sity electron and ion fluxes observed by Artemis, (j) shows the in-situ ion flux observed by Cluster, (k) shows the AU/AL index data to provide context of substorm occurrence.

See the full papers for further details:

Milan, S. E., Mooney, M. K., Bower, G. E., Taylor, M. G. G. T., Paxton, L. J., Dandouras, I., et al. (2023). The association of cusp-aligned arcs with plasma in the magnetotail implies a closed magnetosphere. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 128, e2023JA031419. https://doi. org/10.1029/2023JA031419

Mooney, M. K., Milan, S. E., & Bower, G.E. (2024). Plasma observations in the distant magnetotail during intervals of northward IMF. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 129,e2023JA031999. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JA031999