The interaction between the solar wind and the Earth’s magnetosphere, and the geospace dynamics that result, comprise a fundamental aspect of heliophysics. Understanding how this vast system works requires knowledge of energy and mass transport, and a comprehension of coupling between regions and between plasma and neutral populations.

Missions such as Cluster, THEMIS, Swarm, and Magnetospheric Multi-Scale, like their predecessors, explore the magnetosphere in situ, making incredibly precise local measurements of the plasma processes that drive the behaviour of the magnetosphere on the microscale, and that enable transport and coupling. However, we are still unable to quantify the global effects of those drivers, including the conditions that prevail throughout geospace, and how they evolve.

This information is the key missing link for developing a complete understanding of how the Sun gives rise to and controls the Earth’s plasma environment. A global perspective can be provided by remote imaging, e.g. in IR, visible, FUV and X-ray, including images of aurorae, EUV images of the plasmasphere, ENA images of the ring current and soon soft X-ray images of the Earth's magnetosheath and cusps with the SMILE mission.

The aim of this Specialist Discussion Meeting is to review the remote sensing techniques and observations which provide the global view necessary for a joined-up approach to understanding the details of the interactions, and to validate the many global models which have been developed to describe them.

This meeting is targeted at the heliospheric, magnetospheric and space plasma scientific communities; it will be a forum for discussions reflecting on the results achieved so far, considering their implications and looking forward to forthcoming missions and observing opportunities, of which these communities will be the main users and beneficiaries.

Registration available here.