Revealed: how earth gets protection from space weather

THEMIS showed that the tongue of the earth's cold, dense plasmasphere material stretched all the way up to the magnetic reconnection point where the CME had made contact with the magnetosphere.

The plume had a dramatic impact on the characteristics of the magnetic reconnection region.

"It would not work if the magnetic reconnection happened for only a few minutes. But if it lasts long enough, the whole magnetosphere gets involved. This tongue of the plasmasphere surges out, adding another layer of protection, curbing the magnetic reconnection," explained David Sibeck, a project scientist for THEMIS at NASA Goddard.

Such observations could lead to improvements in space weather predictions, which would be as useful for spacecraft operators as terrestrial weather forecasts are for us here on earth.

The study was published in the journal Science Express.