Magnetic reconnection is a plasma process where magnetic energy is converted into kinetic particle energy in the Earth’s magnetosphere and causes topological changes in the magnetic field. Certain solar wind conditions can cause magnetic reconnection to occur in different regions of the magnetopause and some of these solar wind configurations can cause substorms to develop. A substorm can be described as a local process characterized by magnetic and auroral activity in the ionosphere. Several theories explaining these phenomena involve magnetic reconnection in the near-Earth magnetotail. A way to investigate a reconnection in the Earth’s near magnetotail is to use data from the Cluster satellites. In this study we investigate the signatures of a collisionless magnetic reconnection based on observations by the Cluster satellites. We combine Cluster studies with data from the IMAGE satellite and ground based observations of the auroral and geomagnetic activity, including UV images of the auroral zone, magnetometer data, and auroral indices. We show that the signatures of magnetic reconnection temporarily coincide with enhanced auroral ac-tivity and variations in the auroral indices. The comparison of data is discussed within the scope of existing substorm models.