The Storm-Time Plasmasphere as Seen by the Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Imager on the IMAGE Spacecraft

Many years of ground and space observations of the plasmasphere have established a basic understanding of the physics of these plasmas in the inner magnetosphere. However, many questions remain. The EUV Instrument on the IMAGE spacecraft is now providing the first ever global pictures of thermal helium in the plasmasphere. Detached plasma, the sunward extending convection tail, a night-time interior plasmaspheric density cavity, and strong azimuthal plasmaspheric structures are all being revealed. What are the properties of these structures? How do they evolve? What is their relationship to magnetic storms and other plasma populations? These are some of the questions that define the state of plasmaspheric physics, to which IMAGE is now contributing answers. The graphic evidence and preliminary analysis of these features will be presented and discussed.