File:FluxRopes(BatteryInSpace).jpg

Summary
THEMIS recently re-discovered Birkeland currents, though without reference to Birkeland's work published in 1908 (Norwegian Aurora Polaris Expedition, Vol I & II). NASA has likened the interaction to a 30kV battery in space, noting "THEMIS discovered a flux rope pumping a 650,000 Amp current into the Arctic."