Magnetic Structure and Electron Flow at a Northward Interplanetary Magnetic Field 
Reconnection Line 

D.E. Wendel, P.H. Reiff, A. Fazakerley, E. Lucek, M.L. Goldstein 


On March 18, 2002, the Cluster satellites traveled from the earthÕs northern
mantle into the magnetosheath. During this time, the IMAGE spacecraft observed a
long-lived proton emission northward of the auroral zone. The Cluster electron
and magnetic field data suggest Cluster passed within 1 km of an active
reconnection line, entering the ion diffusion region and the edge of the
electron diffusion region. We present the current structure, velocity,
orientation, and size of the reconnection line. We propose that the xline is
globally stable during Cluster's passage through the magnetopause.

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Submitted to Physical Review Letters, August, 2005