Reconnection diffusion region in a shock ramp

We present a new possibility based on observations of a reconnecting current sheet that occurs within the ramp of a bow shock at Earth. Observed reconnection signatures include electron jet reversals, intense electron heating, inward and outward convecting magnetic fluxes, and features of electron distribution functions consistent with those in a fully developed electron diffusion region at the terrestrial magnetopause. The observations suggest that reconnection can contribute substantially to electron heating at collisionless shocks in planetary and astrophysical systems, and potentially has large-scale impact on the shock structure and function.