A Database for Simultaneous Observations of the Earth's Magnetosheath by
Cluster and MMS Between 2017 and 2021
Abstract
This paper describes a catalogue of simultaneous observations of the
Earth’s magnetosheath by ESA’s Cluster and NASA’s MMS missions. The
catalogue is built from a visual inspection of summary plots provided by
the two missions complemented by an analysis of high-resolution magnetic
field data. The catalogue includes 117 events when Cluster 4 and MMS 4
crossed simultaneously the magnetosheath between January-April,
2017-2021. We also determine the bow shock geometry for each event based
on two different approaches: a) a minimum variance analysis of in-situ
magnetic field measurements, and b) a geometrical approach which
considers a bow shock model parameterized by OMNI data. A description of
spacecraft trajectory during each event is also provided. Additional
data describe the relative distances between Cluster 4 and MMS 4, a
classification of each event as either quasi-parallel or
quasi-perpendicular, and the distribution of events per magnetospheric
flank. The time intervals for the Cluster - MMS conjunctions included in
the catalogue, as well as all associated figures and tables discussed in
this paper are made available through an independent online data
repository, and can be freely downloaded and used by any interested
researcher.