Physics of auroral phenomena : proceedings of the 37th Annual seminar, Apatity, 25 - 28 February, 2014 / [ed. board: A. G. Yahnin, N. V. Semenova]. - Апатиты : Изд-во Кольского научного центра РАН, 2014. - 125 с. : ил., табл.

I.A. Kornilov and T.A. Kornilova It is important that such correlation exists at all (as was mentioned earlier, objects are separated by ~ 2 million kilometers). It should be also noted, that though presented pictures do not conclude information about solar wind pressure variations (time resolution for these data is worse), magnetic field and pressure variations are usually in a very good correlation. Discussion Data presented demonstrate obvious correlation between solar wind magnetic field variations and luminosity of the northern arc. Very probably, arc is an optical manifestation of magnetic reconnection process in the distant tail (possibly, about -20 Re). In this case we can conclude that reconnection is completely initiated and controlled by intensity of external force - namely, by solar wind magnetic field and pressure variations, and speed of reconnection is in direct correlation with intensity of this force. This approach allows us to avoid theoretical problems of explosive reconnection, and consider magnetospheric tail reconnection as a process converting, or transformation of solar wind energy into the energy of internal magnetospheric plasma. Acknowledgements. The authors are grateful to PGI for TV auroral data, to CDAWeb site data providers N. Ness, A. Szabo and R. Lepping for ACE and WIND magnetic data. This work was supported by grant N 12-05-00273a of RBSR and by Programs 22П and 4П of the Russian Academy of Sciences. References Boudouridis A., Zesta E. et al. Magnetospheric reconnection driven by solar wind pressure fronts // Annales Geophysicae. 2004. V. 22. P. 1367-1378. Villante U. and Giuseppe P. Some aspects of the geomagnetic response to solar wind pressure variations: a case study at low and middle latitudes // Annales Geophysicae. 2004. V. 22. P. 2053-2066. Farrugia C. J., Grocott A. The magnetosphere under weak solar wind forcing // Annales Geophysicae. 2007. V. 25. P. 191—205. Juusola L., Andreeva K. et al. Effects of a solar wind dynamic pressure increase in the magnetosphere and in the ionosphere // Arm. Geophys. 2010. V. 28. P. 1945-1959. Shue J.-H., Kamide Y., and Gjerloev J. W. Effects of solar wind density on auroral electrojets and brightness under influence of substorms // Ann. Geophys. 2009. V. 27. P. 113-119. Akasofu S. I. The relationship between the magnetosphere and magnetospheric/auroral substorms // Ann. Geophys. 2013. V. 31. P. 387-394. doi:10.5194/angeo-31-387-2013. Boudouridis A. et al. Statistical study of the effect of solar wind dynamic pressure fronts on the dayside and nightside ionospheric convection.// J. Geophys. Res. 2011. V.16. A10233, doi 10.1029/2011JA16582.2011. 21