LASP Magnetosphere Seminars

The Friends of Magnetospheres (FOM) seminar series focuses on space physics research within planetary magnetospheres. Topics of interest include space weather, fundamental plasma processes within the magnetosphere and coupling to other systems (such as the ionosphere or solar wind).

The FOM seminars are hybrid, with the in-person component held in LASP SPSC and virtual access through zoom. These seminars are aimed at the graduate level and higher.

For more information, please contact Sergey Shuvalov. To subscribe to the FOM mailing list, send an email to lasp-form+subscribe@colorado.edu with an empty subject and body.

Seminars will be advertised through the mailing list and LASP website at least a week ahead of time.

Upcoming

February 17, 2026 2:00 PM

Measuring Energetic Particle Precipitation (EPP) in the D-region Ionosphere using the Array for VLF Imaging of the D-region (AVID)

James Cannon

(University of Colorado Boulder)

The ionosphere serves as a natural filter for different energy EPP as higher energy particles penetrate deeper. Looking at the D-region (60-90 km) filters out all but the highest energy precipitating particles (>30 keV). The D-region ionosphere however is challenging to measure due to its combination of altitude and relatively …

Past

February 3, 2026 2:00 PM

The Solar Wind interaction with Mars: Changing Phases

Laila Andersson

(LASP)

Mars has a conductive ionosphere, which means the solar wind must be diverted around the planet. Closest to the planet, heavy ions from the planet are dominant, and outside the ionosphere-to-solar-wind transition (IST), the solar wind plasma dominates. The atmosphere of Mars is thin, with an exosphere reaching out several …

January 20, 2026 2:00 PM

MMS Observations of Turbulent Energy Transfer in Space and in Velocity

Tien Vo

(LASP)

Turbulence is an important mechanism for energy conversion in weakly collisional plasmas. In fluid turbulence, energy injected into the system at large spatial scales is transferred to smaller scales until it is dissipated as heat through collisions. In the interim between energy injection and dissipation, kinetic effects can also mediate …

November 25, 2025 2:00 PM

Ionosphere-magnetosheath interaction at Mars

Sergey Shuvalov

(LASP)

The boundary between the Martian ionosphere – populated with heavy ions of planetary origin – and the shocked solar wind in the magnetosheath plays a pivotal role in mediating energy transfer and controlling pathways for atmospheric escape. In this talk, I will present three distinct manifestations of ionosphere–magnetosheath interaction revealed …

November 11, 2025 2:00 PM

Electron Precipitation Driven by Ducted Lightning-Generated Whistlers

Longzhi Gan

(Boston University)

Lightning-generated whistlers (LGWs) are electromagnetic waves generated by lightning strikes that can enter Earth’s magnetosphere and interact with radiation belt electrons, causing them to precipitate into the atmosphere. A hallmark of this lightning-induced electron precipitation (LEP) is a unique type of microbursts, which have regularly spaced pulses known as bouncing …