MIST
Magnetosphere, Ionosphere and Solar-Terrestrial
Latest articles
- Statistical Scale Analyses of a Diurnal Periodicity in Auroral Kilometric Radiation, Observed by Wind/WAVES
- Cometary ion dynamics at a weakly outgassing comet
- Autumn MIST 2026 (20th November)
- Introducing XIM to Study the Spectral Properties of Solar Wind Charge Exchange at Earth’s Magnetospheric Boundaries
- Saturn's Auroral Dusk Sector Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling During Cassini's Proximal Orbits
Latest news
2026 MIST Council Election Results
It is our pleasure to announce the results of the latest MIST Council Election.
- Samuel Wharton (University of Leicester) is elected for a 3 year term as a MIST Councillor
- Jewel Abbey Relampagos (Lancaster University) is elected for a 1 year term as the MIST Student Representative
In addition, due to concerns from the community regarding the ongoing UKRI/STFC funding situation, MIST Council have also decided to charter Mark Lester (University of Leicester) as an additional councillor to inform and steer the council in matters related to this specific brief, as set out in Article 4.5 of the MIST Charter.
We would like to congratulate everyone on their new roles. The full composition of Council can be found on the MIST website (https://www.mist.ac.uk/community/mist-council). We would like to thank all the candidates for putting themselves forward and everyone who took part in the voting. We received votes from 132 people which represents a turnout of 21.5% of people registered to receive the MIST emailing list.
Finally, MIST Council would like to extend their thanks and gratitude to our outgoing members: Fiona Ball and Georgios Nicolaou. We would also like to say a special thank you to Andy Smith who was co-opted to be on MIST council while Rosie Johnson was on maternity leave, thank you for all of your hard work.
Open Letter Ready For Signatories
Protect MIST Science! Sign the MIST Community Open Letter on the STFC funding cuts!
https://sites.google.com/view/uk-mist-community-open-letter
Statement from MIST Council regarding the STFC Funding Situation
Statement from MIST Council regarding the STFC Funding Situation
MIST Council is deeply concerned by the ongoing STFC funding uncertainty and its impact on our community and beyond.
The current combination of prospective delayed and reduced funding, together with already volatile financial situations at universities across the UK, is placing significant strain on research groups. In some cases, institutions may be unable to support researchers through gaps between projects, increasing precarity across the community and adding significant pressure on early-career researchers.
We are concerned that continued uncertainty risks accelerating a brain drain from the UK, as skilled researchers reconsider their future in a system offering limited stability. The loss of expertise at any career stage would have lasting consequences for UK space science.
What is going on?
For those that are unaware of the situation, it is complex and evolving. We suggest the following sources to get up to speed on the current developments.
https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/news/proposed-budget-cuts-catastrophe-uk-astronomy
What are we doing about it?
Behind the scenes, MIST Council is actively engaging with relevant parties to understand the scale of the challenge and to identify constructive ways forward.
- We are seeking seasoned members of the community to join MIST Council on a task force to help develop options and represent the needs of our community. If you would like to be involved, please reach out to us via the MIST Council email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) by the end of this week (13th February 2026).
- In addition to the task force, we want to provide an open forum for discussion and collective input among all members of the wider MIST community. We are exploring options and will be in touch as soon as possible with further details.
- We believe in working together in the face of the current challenges and we are collaborating with UKSP and others to strive for a fair and positive outcome for all. We are reaching out to members of the SSAP (Solar System Advisory Panel) to explore the hosting of a community town hall meeting, like the one already being organised by the AAP (Astronomy Advisory Panel), to provide an open forum for discussion and collective input.
What can you do to help?
There are several open letters representing people in various career stages that have been made available to sign. We encourage you to read the relevant letter(s) and to sign them if you support them:
- Fellowship Holders: https://advancedfellows-openletter-stfc.github.io/index.html
- Early Career Researchers: https://ecr-openletter-stfc.github.io/
The Royal Astronomical Society are also urging Fellows to lobby their MPs against the cuts, and have included a template letter that can be used to do so:
https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/news/ras-fellows-urged-lobby-against-unprecedented-cuts
MIST Council will continue to advocate for transparency, stability, and funding structures that recognise both the long-term nature of our science and the people who deliver it.
We thank you for your continued support in this period of uncertainty.
Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have further suggestions.
MIST Council
Announcement of New MIST Council 2025
We are very pleased to announce the following members of the community have been elected to MIST Council:
- Gemma Bower (University of Leicester), MIST Councillor
- Tom Elsden (University of St Andrews), MIST Councillor
- Cameron Patterson (Lancaster University), MIST Councillor
- Fiona Ball (University of Southampton), Student Representative
They will begin their terms in July 2025.
We thank outgoing MIST Council members: Maria Walach, Chiara Lazzeri and Emma Woodfield. Andy Smith will remain on council a little longer as a co-opted member to cover Rosie Johnson's maternity leave.
The current composition of Council can be found on our website (https://www.mist.ac.uk/community/mist-council).
Announcement of New MIST Councillors.
We are very pleased to announce the following members of the community have been elected unopposed to MIST Council:
- Rosie Johnson (Aberystwyth University), MIST Councillor
- Matthew Brown (University of Birmingham), MIST Councillor
- Chiara Lazzeri (MSSL, UCL), Student Representative
Rosie, Matthew, and Chiara will begin their terms in July. This will coincide with Jasmine Kaur Sandhu, Beatriz Sanchez-Cano, and Sophie Maguire outgoing as Councillors.
The current composition of Council can be found on our website, and this will be amended in July to reflect this announcement (https://www.mist.ac.uk/community/mist-council).
Statistical Scale Analyses of a Diurnal Periodicity in Auroral Kilometric Radiation, Observed by Wind/WAVES
By Alexandra Ruth Fogg (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies)
The Earth is a natural radio emitter with Auroral Kilometric Radiation (AKR) its strongest frequency component. AKR is highly correlated with space weather activity, but can also be modulated by the rotation of the planet. Beyond the Earth, rotational periodicities in the intensity of planetary radio emissions can be used to estimate the rotation rate of planets without trackable surface features. While the rotational period of the Earth is well known, understanding periodicities in the intensity of AKR is still of scientific interest. Firstly, observations of terrestrial radio emissions can be used as a laboratory to assess periodicity detection methods, exploiting the large historical and contemporary observational archives. Secondly, to understand AKR as a barometer for space weather, a clear description of other affects on the signal (visibility, periodicities, etc) must be determined.
Using a decade-long archive of observations of AKR, Fogg et al (2026) test a variety of analyses to detect a 24-hour periodicity in AKR intensity. Lomb-Scargle and autocorrelation analyses determined a ~24-hour periodicity in long, unprocessed datasets, but on short (31-day) datasets, data had to be log-transformed to extract this result. Some evidence to support the lighthouse/rotating beam periodicity driver was found; this suggests that the AKR source, which is tied to a magnetic field line, rotates with the planet at a 24-hour periodicity since the field line itself is tied to the interior of the rotating planet.
Fogg, A. R., Wu, S., Jackman, C. M., Walker, S. J., Rutala, M. J., Louis, C. K., et al. (2026). Statistical scale analyses of a diurnal periodicity in auroral kilometric radiation, observed by wind/WAVES. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 131, e2026JA035423. https://doi.org/10.1029/2026JA035423
See publication for more details:
Fogg, A. R., Wu, S., Jackman, C. M., Walker, S. J., Rutala, M. J., Louis, C. K., et al. (2026). Statistical scale analyses of a diurnal periodicity in auroral kilometric radiation, observed by wind/WAVES. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 131, e2026JA035423. https://doi.org/10.1029/2026JA035423
Normalized Lomb‐Scargle periodogram for (a) synthetic oscillating signal (b) 10 years of data and (c) 142 days and 11 hours of data (a period of continuous nightside observation). Where two signals are plotted, integrated power across 100–400 kHz is in grey and 50–100 kHz in orange. Vertical black arrows indicate periods of 12 and 24 hr along the top x axis. False Alarm Level (FAL) is the 97.7th percentile of 100 bootstraps and is indicated for each signal with a horizontal arrow, with colour matching the trace.