Yuanzheng Wen, a graduate research assistant in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, received an Outstanding Student Presentation Award for his talk at the American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting Dec. 9-13, 2024 in Washington, DC. The honor is awarded for only the most exceptional presentations during the meeting, as determined by judge evaluations. 

The presentation “Multi-Point Observations of Magnetic Reconnection in the Martian Magnetotail Triggered by IMF Rotation” was given the Planetary Sciences section at AGU24. 

Wen’s research focuses on the magnetosphere of Mars, which is very dynamic and influenced by both the solar wind and Mars' own magnetic fields. This environment changes so quickly that it's hard to tell if the changes are happening over time or across different areas. On Earth, scientists use multiple spacecraft to study these changes, but Mars doesn't have a dedicated multi-spacecraft mission. However, by using data from two orbiters, MAVEN and Tianwen-1, scientists can still study these changes.

In this study, Wen and his advisor Prof. Jasper Halekas looked at sudden changes in the direction of the magnetic field coming from the Sun, observed by Tianwen-1. They found that shortly after these changes, MAVEN detected magnetic reconnection events in Mars' magnetotail. These events involved the magnetic field twisting, energized particles, and fast-moving ion jets. These findings suggest that Mars' magnetosphere is complex and heavily influenced by the solar wind, highlighting the importance of using multiple spacecraft to understand these rapid changes. 

See more about the presentation on the AGU website.