A Multiscale Model for Substorms

Most substorm researchers assume substorms to be caused by a unique large-scale process. However, a critical evaluation of substorm observations indicates that a new paradigm is needed to understand the substorm phenomenon and the magnetospheric dynamics in general. It is proposed here that substorms involve a number of physical processes covering over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Potential candidates include the kinetic or shear ballooning instability, the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, the cross-field current instability, the tearing instability, and magnetic reconnection. An observational constraint on the qualified process for substorm onset is that it must be associated with magnetic field lines of auroral arcs since substorm onsets start with brightening of a pre-existing auroral arc. Which particular process dominates in a given substorm depends on the present and past states of the magnetosphere as well as the external solar wind. The magnetosphere is almost perpetually driven by the solar wind to be near a critical point and in a metastable state. Magnetospheric disturbances occur sporadically in multiple localized sites. A substorm is realized when the combined effect of these localized disturbances become global in extent, much like the system-wide activity in a sandpile or avalanche model.     

Relationship Between Substorm Auroras and Processes in the Near-Earth Magnetotail

Although the auroral substorm has been long regarded as a manifestation of the magnetospheric substorm, a direct relation of active auroras to certain magnetospheric processes is still debatable. To investigate the relationship, we combine the data of the UV imager onboard the Polar satellite with plasma and magnetic field measurements by the Geotail spacecraft. The poleward edge of the auroral bulge, as determined from the images obtained at the LHBL passband, is found to be conjugated with the region where the oppositely directed fast plasma flows observed in the near-Earth plasma sheet during substorms are generated. We conclude that the auroras forming the bulge are due to the near-Earth reconnection process. This implies that the magnetic flux through the auroral bulge is equal to the flux dissipated in the magnetotail during the substorm. Comparison of the magnetic flux through the auroral bulge with the magnetic flux accumulated in the tail lobe during the growth phase shows that these parameters have the comparable values. This is a clear evidence of the loading–unloading scheme of substorm development. It is shown that the area of the auroral bulge developing during substorm is proportional to the total (magnetic plus plasma) pressure decrease in the magnetotail. These findings stress the importance of auroral bulge observations for monitoring of substorm intensity in terms of the magnetic flux and energy dissipation.     

Global Imaging of Proton and Electron Aurorae in the far Ultraviolet

The IMAGE spacecraft carries three FUV photon imagers, the Wideband Imaging Camera (WIC) and two channels, SI-12 and SI-13, of the Spectrographic Imager. These provide simultaneous global images, which can be interpreted in terms of the precipitating particle types (protons and electrons) and their energies. IMAGE FUV is the first space-borne global imager that can provide instantaneous global images of the proton precipitation. At times a bright auroral spot, rich in proton precipitation, is observed on the dayside, several degrees poleward of the auroral zone. The spot was identified as the footprint of the merging region of the cusp that is located on lobe field lines when IMF B_z was northward. This identification was based on compelling statistical evidence showing that the appearance and location of the spot is consistent with the IMF B_z and B_y directions. The intensity of the spot is well correlated with the solar wind dynamic pressure and it was found that the direct entry of solar wind particles could account for the intensity of the observed spot without the need for any additional acceleration. Another discovery was the observation of dayside sub-auroral proton arcs. These arcs were observed in the midday to afternoon MLT sector. Conjugate satellite observations showed that these arcs were generated by pure proton precipitation. Nightside auroras and their relationship to substorm phases were studied through single case studies and in a superimposed epoch analysis. It was found that generally there is substantial proton precipitation prior to substorms and the proton intensity only doubles at substorm onset while the electron auroral brightness increases on average by a factor of 5 and sometimes by as much as a factor of 10. Substorm onset occurs in the central region of the pre-existing proton precipitation. Assuming that nightside protons are precipitating from a quasi-stable ring current at its outer regions where the field lines are distorted by neutral sheet currents we can associate the onset location with this region of closed but distorted field lines relatively close to the earth. Our results also show that protons are present in the initial poleward substorm expansion however later they are over taken by the electrons. We also find that the intensity of the substorms as quantified by the intensity of the post onset electron precipitation is correlated with the intensity of the proton precipitation prior to the substorms, highlighting the role of the pre-existing near earth plasma in the production of the next substorm.     

Steady magnetospheric convection: A review of recent results

Theoretical pressure balance arguments have implied that steady convection is hardly possible in the terrestrial magnetotail and that steady energy input necessarily generates a cyclic loading-unloading sequence, i.e., repetitive substorms. However, observations have revealed that enhanced solar wind energy input to the magnetospheric system may either lead to substorm activity or enhanced but steady convection. This topic is reviewed with emphasis on several recent case studies of the Steady Magnetospheric Convection (SMC) events. In these cases extensive data sets from both satellite and ground-based instruments from various magnetospheric and ionospheric regions were available.Accurate distinction of the spatial and temporal scales of the magnetospheric processes is vital for correct interpretation of the observations during SMC periods. We show that on the large scale, the magnetospheric configuration and plasma convection are stable during SMC events, but that both reveal considerable differences from their quiet-time assemblies. On a shorter time scale, there are numerous transient activations which are similar to those found during substorms, but which presumably originate from a more distant tail reconnection process, and map to the poleward boundary of the auroral oval. The available observations and the unresolved questions are summarized here.The tail magnetic field during SMC events resembles both substorm growth and recovery phases in the neartail and midtail, respectively, but this configuration may remain stable for up to ten hours. Based on observations and model results we discuss how the magnetospheric system avoids pressure balance problems when the plasma convects earthward.Finally, the importance of further coordinated studies of SMC events is emphasized. Such studies may shed more light on the substorm dynamics and help to verify quantitatively the theoretical models of the convecting magnetosphere.     

Role of ionospheric effects and plasma sheet dynamics in the formation of auroral arcs

At the ionospheric level, the substorm onset (expansion phase) is marked by the initial brightening and subsequent breakup of a pre-existing auroral arc. According to the field line resonance (FLR) wave model, the substorm-related auroral arc is caused by the field-aligned current carried by FLRs. The FLRs are standing shear Alfvén wave structures that are excited along the dipole/quasi-dipole lines of the geomagnetic field. The FLRs (that can cause auroral arc) thread from the Earthward edge of the plasma sheet and link the auroral arc to the plasma sheet region of 6–15 R _E. The region is associated with magnetic fluctuations that result from the nonlinear wave-wave interactions of the cross-field current-instability. The instability (excited at the substorm onset) disrupts the cross-tail current which is built up during the growth phase of the substorms and results in magnetic fluctuations. The diversion of the current to polar regions can lead to auroral arc intensification. The current FLR model is based on the amplitude equations that describe the nonlinear space-time evolution of FLRs in the presence of ponderomotive forces exerted by large amplitude FLRs (excited during substorms). The present work will modify the FLR wave model to include the effects arising from magnetic fluctuations that result from current disruption near the plasma sheet (6–15 R _E). The nonlinear evolution of FLRs is coupled with the dynamics of plasma sheet through a momentum exchange term (resulting from magnetic fluctuations due to current disruption) in the generalized Ohm's law. The resulting amplitude equations including the effects arising from magnetic fluctuations can be used to study the structure of the auroral arcs formed during substorms. We have also studied the role of feedback mechanism (in a dipole geometry of the geomagnetic field) in the formation of the discrete auroral arc observed on the nightside magnetosphere. The present nonlinear dispersive model (NDM) is extended to include effects arising from the low energy electrons originating from the plasma sheet boundary layer. These electrons increase the ionospheric conductivity in a localized patch and enhance the field-aligned current through a feedback mechanism. The feedback effects were studied numerically in a dipole geometry using the the NDM. The numerical studies yield the magnitude of the field-aligned current that is large enough to form a discrete auroral arc. Our studies provide theoretical support to the observational work of Newell et al. that the feedback instability plays a major role in the formation of the discrete auroral arcs observed on the nightside magnetosphere.     

Auroral flares and solar flares

The morphology of development of auroral flares (magnetospheric substorms) for both electron and proton auroras is summarized, based on ground-based as well as rocket-borne and satellite-borne data with specific reference to the morphology of solar flares.The growth phase of an auroral flare is produced by the inflow of the solar wind energy into the magnetosphere by the reconnection mechanism between the solar wind field and the geomagnetic field, thus the neutral and plasma sheets in the magnetotail attaining their minimum thickness with a great stretch of the geomagnetic fluxes into the tail.The onset of the expansion phase of an auroral flare is represented by the break-up of electron and proton auroras, which is associated with strong auroral electrojets, a sudden increase in CNA, VLF hiss emissions and characteristic ULF emissions. The auroral break-up is triggered by the relaxation of stretched magnetic fluxes caused by cutting off of the tail fluxes at successively formed X-type neutral lines in the magnetotail.The resultant field-aligned currents flowing between the tailward magnetosphere and the polar ionosphere produce the field-aligned anomalous resistivity owing to the electrostatic ion-cyclotron waves; the electrical potential drop thus increased further accelerates precipitating charged particles with a result of the intensification of both the field-aligned currents and the auroral electrojet. It seems that the rapid building-up of this positive feedback system for precipitating charged particles is responsible for the break-up of an auroral flare.     

The magnetotail and substorms

The tail plays a very active and important role in substorms. Magnetic flux eroded from the dayside magnetosphere is stored here. As more and more flux is transported to the magnetotail and stored, the boundary of the tail flares more, the field strength in the tail increases, and the currents strengthen and move closer to the Earth. Further, the plasma sheet thins and the magnetic flux crossing the neutral sheet lessens. At the onset of the expansion phase, the stored magnetic flux is returned from the tail and energy is deposited in the magnetosphere and ionosphere. During the expansion phase of isolated substorms, the flaring angle and the lobe field strength decrease, the plasma sheet thickens and more magnetic flux crosses the neutral sheet.In this review, we discuss the experimental evidence for these processes and present a phenomenological or qualitative model of the substorm sequence. In this model, the flux transport is driven by the merging of the magnetospheric and interplanetary magnetic fields. During the growth phase of substorms the merging rate on the dayside magnetosphere exceeds the reconnection rate in the neutral sheet. In order to remove the oversupply of magnetic flux in the tail, a neutral point forms in the near earth portion of the tail. If the new reconnection rate exceeds the dayside merging rate, then an isolated substorm results. However, a situation can occur in which dayside merging and tail reconnection are in equilibrium. The observed polar cap electric field and its correlation with the interplanetary magnetic field is found to be in accord with open magnetospheric models.     

Substorms and Their Solar Wind Causes

Consequences of the solar wind input observed as large scale magnetotail dynamics during substorms are reviewed, highlighting results from statistical studies as well as global magnetosphere/ionosphere observations. Among the different solar wind input parameters, the most essential one to initiate reconnection relatively close to the Earth is a southward IMF or a solar wind dawn-to-dusk electric field. Larger substorms are associated with such reconnection events closer to the Earth and the magnetotail can accumulate larger amounts of energy before its onset. Yet, how and to what extent the magnetotail configuration before substorm onset differs for different solar wind driver is still to be understood. A strong solar wind dawn-to-dusk electric field is, however, only a necessary condition for a strong substorm, but not a sufficient one. That is, there are intervals when the solar wind input is processed in the magnetotail without the usual substorm cycle, suggesting different modes of flux transport. Furthermore, recent global observations suggest that the magnetotail response during the substorm expansion phase can be also controlled by plasma sheet density, which is coupled to the solar wind on larger time-scales than the substorm cycle. To explain the substorm dynamics it is therefore important to understand the different modes of energy, momentum, and mass transport within the magnetosphere as a consequence of different types of solar wind-magnetosphere interaction with different time-scales that control the overall magnetotail configuration, in addition to the internal current sheet instabilities leading to large scale tail current sheet dissipation.     

The THEMIS Array of Ground-based Observatories for the Study of Auroral Substorms

The NASA Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) project is intended to investigate magnetospheric substorm phenomena, which are the manifestations of a basic instability of the magnetosphere and a dominant mechanism of plasma transport and explosive energy release. The major controversy in substorm science is the uncertainty as to whether the instability is initiated near the Earth, or in the more distant >20 Re magnetic tail. THEMIS will discriminate between the two possibilities by using five in-situ satellites and ground-based all-sky imagers and magnetometers, and inferring the propagation direction by timing the observation of the substorm initiation at multiple locations in the magnetosphere. An array of stations, consisting of 20 all-sky imagers (ASIs) and 30-plus magnetometers, has been developed and deployed in the North American continent, from Alaska to Labrador, for the broad coverage of the nightside magnetosphere. Each ground-based observatory (GBO) contains a white light imager that takes auroral images at a 3-second repetition rate (“cadence”) and a magnetometer that records the 3 axis variation of the magnetic field at 2 Hz frequency. The stations return compressed images, “thumbnails,” to two central databases: one located at UC Berkeley and the other at the University of Calgary, Canada. The full images are recorded at each station on hard drives, and these devices are physically returned to the two data centers for data copying. All data are made available for public use by scientists in “browse products,” accessible by using internet browsers or in the form of downloadable CDF data files (the “browse products” are described in detail in a later section). Twenty all-sky imager stations are installed and running at the time of this publication. An example of a substorm was observed on the 23rd of December 2006, and from the THEMIS GBO data, we found that the substorm onset brightening of the equatorward arc was a gradual process (>27 seconds), with minimal morphology changes until the arc breaks up. The breakup was timed to the nearest frame (<3 s) and located to the nearest latitude degree at about ±3^oE in longitude. The data also showed that a similar breakup occurred in Alaska ～10 minutes later, highlighting the need for an array to distinguish prime onset.     

Orbit Design for the THEMIS Mission

THEMIS, NASA’s fifth Medium Class Explorer (MIDEX) mission will monitor the onset and macro-scale evolution of magnetospheric substorms. It is a fleet of 5 small satellites (probes) measuring in situ the magnetospheric particles and fields while a network of 20 ground based observatories (GBOs) monitor auroral brightening over Northern America. Three inner probes (～1 day period, 10 R_E apogee) monitor current disruption and two outer probes (～2 day and ～4 day period, 20 R_E and 30 R_E apogees respectively) monitor lobe flux dissipation. In order to time and localize substorm onsets, THEMIS utilizes Sun–Earth aligned conjunctions between the probes when the ground-based observatories are on the nightside. To maintain high recurrence of conjunctions the outer orbits have to be actively adjusted during each observation season. Orbit maintenance is required to rearrange the inner probes for dayside observations and also inject the probes into their science orbits after near-simultaneous release from a common launch vehicle. We present an overview of the orbit strategy, which is primarily driven by the scientific goals of the mission but also represents a compromise between the probe thermal constraints and fuel capabilities. We outline the process of orbit design, describe the mission profile and explain how mission requirements are targeted and evaluated. Mission-specific tools, based on high-fidelity orbit prediction and common magnetospheric models, are also presented. The planning results have been verified by in-flight data from launch through the end of the first primary science seasons and have been used for mission adjustments subject to the early scientific results from the coast phase and first tail season.     

Substorm aspects of magnetic pulsations

The different types of magnetic pulsations occurring during magnetospheric substorms are analysed into the concept of polar substorms recently described in detail by Akasofu (1968). Special attention is thus paid, to the simultaneous occurrence of different types of micropulsations at different places around the earth, during the development of a substorm. Time lags between the appearance of micropulsations and other geophysical effects of the substorm are of fundamental importance in this respect. Relationships between the occurrence or spectral shape of micropulsations and the state of the magnetosphere, as determined by satellite measurements are also of interest. Recent theoretical studies about the origin of these micropulsations are reviewed: natural h.m. emissions are directly linked to the thermal plasma density, the high energetic particle fluxes and pitch angle distributions in the far magnetosphere (L 5–8). We can thus expect to be able to deduce some information about the changes of these quantities during substorms. New semi-quantitative work is reported, which tries to interpret the repetitive structure of SIP events in terms of thickness of the magnetospheric tail, and the frequency drift of IPDP's in terms of magnetospheric electric fields. The present knowledge about absorption and dispersion of hydromagnetic waves through the ionosphere or inside the submagneto-ionospheric guide is also stated, because not taking these effects into account could lead to misinterpretation of the data.     

Long-period irregular magnetic pulsation,Pi3

In the 1973 Scientific Assembly, the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy proposed with Resolution No. 11 to settle two new classes of magnetic pulsations; Pc6 having a sinusoidal waveform with periods longer than 600 s and Pi3 having an irregular waveform with periods longer than 150 s. The present paper reviews the studies on these pulsations putting a stress on Pi3. the Pi3-type pulsations are further classified into Psc5, Psc6, Pip, Ps6 and another type. The pulsations Psc5 and Psc6 mean the damped-type pulsations associating with storm sudden commencement in the approximate period range from 150 to 600 s and longer than 600 s, respectively, while Pip and Ps6 are the quasi-sinusoidal pulsations associating with magnetospheric substorm in the appropriate period range from 100 to 400 s and from 5 to 40 min, respectively. In the present review paper a stress is further layed on morphology and theory of the Ps6-type Pi3 pulsation. The following two-snake model is concluded to be plausible. A current system with in-flowing field-aligned current, westward ionospheric current, and out-flowing field-aligned current expands toward both the dawn- and the dusk-sectors with the progress of magnetospheric substorm. Thus Ps6 is regarded to be due to a magnetic effect of a meandering of the current system during the expansion, which is compared with the meandering of two snakes along the auroral oval from the midnight point toward both the east and the west, respectively.     

Flow Bursts in the Plasma Sheet and Auroral Substorm Onset: Observational Constraints on Connection Between Midtail and Near-earth Substorm Processes

Causality between near-Earth and midtail substorm processes is one of the most controversial issues about the substorm trigger mechanism. The currently most popular model, the outside-in model, assumes that near-Earth reconnection is initiated in the midtail region before substorm onset and that the associated flow burst causes tail current disruption in the near-Earth region. However, there remain some outstanding issues that may serve as critical tests of this model. The present article reviews recent satellite and ground observations addressing three such critical issues with a focus on substorm-related auroral features. First, near-Earth reconnection, even if it reaches the lobe magnetic field, does not necessarily trigger a global substorm, but it is often related to a pseudobreakup. This fact suggests that there is an additional or alternative condition for substorm development. Secondly, although there appears to be one-to-one correspondence between flow bursts in the plasma sheet and equatorward-moving auroral structures (auroral streamers), no such auroral feature that can be associated with the fast plasma flow can be identified prior to auroral breakups. On the other hand, the flow burst is widely regarded as a manifestation of reconnection and therefore, according to the outside-in model, should be created in the near-Earth plasma sheet before substorm onset. Finally, auroral arcs poleward of a breakup arc are not affected until the front of auroral intensification reaches those arcs. The last two points suggest that if substorm is triggered as the outside-in model describes, the ionosphere is electromagnetically detached from the magnetosphere, which, however, has not been addressed theoretically. Thus, it should be crucial for a better understanding of the substorm trigger process to implement the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling in future modeling efforts and to address those basic issues as a guide for critically evaluating each model.     

A study of auroral displays photographed from the DMSP-2 satellite and from the Alaska meridian chain of stations

In the first part of the paper, a brief historical review of the progress of our knowledge on morphological aspects of the aurora is given. A particular emphasis is made in describing technical developments in auroral observations. In the second part, a large number of DMSP-2 photographs are examined in detail; in particular, substorm features, such as the initial brightening, the poleward expansion, westward traveling surges, eastward drifting patches, omega bands, torch-like structures, polar cap auroras, are illustrated. Whenever available, simultaneous photographs from the Alaska meridian chain of stations are used to describe in detail time variations of auroral displays before, during and after the passage of the satellite. In the last part, recent progress in understanding auroral phenomena is briefly reviewed from the point of view of magnetospheric physics.     

Dynamic morphology of auroras

Simultaneous changes of auroral forms, brightness, and motions over the whole polar region are studied, using IGY all-sky camera records from widely distributed stations in eastern Siberia, Alaska, Canada and the northern United States. It is found that the auroral system centered in the midnight sector in the auroral zone repeatedly undergoes an expansion and subsequent contraction; during the maximum stage of the activity, the whole auroral system extends over a substantial portion of the darkened polar region. Such extensive auroral activity as a whole may be regarded as a single event, and is described in terms of the auroral substorm. The substorm has two characteristic phases, an expansive phase and a recovery phase. Characteristic auroral displays over the entire polar region during the substorm are described in detail. The basic physical processes involved for the auroral substorm are also discussed.Geomagnetic disturbances associated with the auroral substorm are also described in detail in terms of the polar magnetic substorm, and it is shown that both the auroral substorm and the polar magnetic substorm are different aspects of the manifestation of a large-scale plasma motion in the magnetosphere.The distribution of the aurora for different degrees of the geomagnetic activity is also discussed in terms of the auroral belt. It is shown that the center line of the auroral belt moves greatly with respect to its average location (namely the auroral zone), depending on the degree of the magnetic activity.     

Potential Plasma Instabilities For Substorm Expansion Onsets

Space plasmas present intriguing and challenging puzzles to the space community. Energy accessible to excite instabilities exists in a variety of forms, particularly for the magnetospheric environment prior to substorm expansion onsets. A general consensus of the pre-expansion magnetosphere is the development of a thin current sheet in the near-Earth magnetosphere. This review starts with a short account of the two major substorm paradigms. Highlights of some observations pertaining to the consideration of potential plasma instabilities for substorm expansion are given. Since a common thread of these paradigms is the development of a thin current sheet, several efforts to model analytically a thin current sheet configuration are described. This leads to a review on the instability analyses of several prominent candidates for the physical process responsible for substorm expansion onset. The potential instabilities expounded in this review include the cross-field current, lower-hybrid-drift, drift kink/sausage, current driven Alfvénic, Kelvin-Helmholtz, tearing, and entropy anti-diffusion instabilities. Some recent results from plasma simulations relevant to the investigation of these plasma instabilities are shown. Although some of these instabilities are generally conceived to be excited in spatially localized regions in the magnetosphere, their potentials in yielding global consequences are also explored.     

The Role and Contributions of Energetic Neutral Atom (ENA) Imaging in Magnetospheric Substorm Research

Energetic Neutral Atom (ENA) imaging has contributed substantially to substorm research. This technique has allowed significant advances in areas such as observation and quantification of injected particle drift as a function of energy, observation of dynamics in the tail that are directly related to the effects of imposed (growth phase) and induced (expansion phase) electric fields on the plasma, the prompt extraction of oxygen from the ionosphere during substorms, the relationship between storms and substorms, and the timing of substorm ENA signatures. We present discussion of the advantages and shortcomings of the ENA technique for studying space plasmas. Although the technique is in its infancy, it is yielding results that enrich our understanding of the substorm process and its effects.     

Electron precipitations and polar auroras

In the first part (Sections I–III) a brief historical review of the progress of our knowledge of the precipitation of auroral electrons is given. Observations by different techniques, in terms of detectors aboard balloons, sounding rockets, and polar-orbiting satellites, are reviewed (Sections I). The precipitation morphology is examined in terms of synoptic statistical results (Section II) and of latitudinal survey along individual satellite passes (Section III). In the second part (Section IV), a large number of simultaneous observations of auroras and precipitating auroral electrons by DMSP satellites are examined in detail, and it is shown that precipitation characteristics of auroral electrons are distinctly different for the discrete aurora and the diffuse aurora. In the third part (Section V), the source region of auroral electrons is discussed by comparing the auroral electron precipitation at low altitudes observed by DMSP satellites with the simultaneous ATS-6 observations near the magnetospheric equatorial plane approximately along the same geomagnetic field line. It is shown that the diffuse aurora is caused by direct dumping of the plasma sheet electrons from the equatorial region, whereas discrete auroras require acceleration of electrons between the plasma sheet and the polar atmosphere. The parallel electric field along the geomagnetic field line above the ionosphere is a likely candidate for the acceleration mechanism.Applied Physics Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Maryland 20810, U.S.A.     

The First two Years of Image

The Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) is the first satellite mission that is dedicated to imaging the Earth's magnetosphere. Using advanced multispectral imaging techniques along with omnidirectional radio sounding, IMAGE has provided the first glimpses into the global structure and behavior of plasmas in the inner magnetosphere. Scientific results from the two-year prime mission include the confirmation of the theory of plasmaspheric tails and the discovery of several new and unpredicted features of the plasmasphere. Neutral-atom imaging has shown how the ring current develops during magnetic storms and how ionospheric ions are injected into the ring current during substorms. The first global imaging of proton auroras has allowed the identification of the ionospheric footprint of the polar cusp and its response to changes in the interplanetary magnetic field. Detached subauroral proton arcs have been found to appear in the afternoon sector following south-north and east-west rotations of the IMF. Low-energy neutral atom imaging has shown global-scale ionospheric outflow to be an immediate response to solar-wind pressure pulses. Such imaging has also provided the first measurements of solar wind and interstellar neutral atoms from inside the magnetosphere. Radio sounding has revealed the internal structure of the plasmasphere and identified plasma cavities as the source of kilometric continuum radiation. These and numerous other scientific results now set the stage for the extended mission of IMAGE in which the imaging perspective will change markedly owing to orbital evolution while the magnetospheric environment undergoes a transition from solar maximum toward solar minimum.