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The two‐lobe structure of the distant (X ≥ 200 R e ) magnetotail
Author(s) -
Tsurutani B. T.,
Jones D. E.,
Sibeck D. G.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/gl011i010p01066
Subject(s) - physics , lobe , center (category theory) , astrophysics , dimension (graph theory) , geology , geodesy , geometry , mathematics , anatomy , crystallography , biology , combinatorics , chemistry
The results of an analysis of ∼ 8 months of ISEE‐3 data to determine the structure of the distant tail at distances from X = 60 to 238 R e are presented. It is determined that the tail has a two‐lobe structure with embedded plasmasheet. No evidence of filamentary structure was found. From the second deep tail pass data, it is determined that at 200 to 238 R e , the maximum thickness of the plasmasheet at its center is ∼ 9‐15 R e , similar to near‐earth observations. The total north‐south dimension of the tail is ∼ 53‐59 R e . From an analysis of the first deep tail pass data, the east‐west dimension of the tail is determined to be ∼ 45 R e . Maximum tail deviations in the north‐south direction are only ∼ 6°, as measured from the earth.