THEMIS Observations of Magnetic Reconnection in Earth's Magnetotail

We present observations of magnetic reconnection in Earth's magnetotail from multiple THEMIS spacecraft with at least one spacecraft crossing of the electron diffusion region and with simultaneous observations of inflow or outflow conditions in the ion diffusion region. Classical signatures of the Hall current system, confirmed by two-spacecraft magnetic field gradients and accelerated electrons, are also evident. We explore the carriers of the cross tail current and the parallel currents. Reconnection lasted for many minutes but fortuitous crossings of the electron diffusion region were rare. We confirm such a crossing using the electron agyrotropy and the gradients of the non-diagonal terms of the pressure tensor. Despite the shortness of the event, there are indications that impulsive reconnection at that distance continued across a large sector of the magnetotail during this active period.