Electron-Scale Measurements of Magnetic Reconnection in Space

Magnetic reconnection occurs when the magnetic field permeating a conductive plasma rapidly rearranges itself, releasing energy and accelerating particles. Reconnection is important in a wide variety of physical systems, but the details of how it occurs are poorly understood. Burch et al. used NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale mission to probe the plasma properties within a reconnection event in Earth's magnetosphere (see the Perspective by Coates). They find that the process is driven by the electron-scale dynamics. The results will aid our understanding of magnetized plasmas, including those in fusion reactors, the solar atmosphere, solar wind, and the magnetospheres of Earth and other planets.