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O L Vaisberg, V N Smirnov, L A Avanov, A A Petrukovich, A Skalsky, N E Rybjeva
The Interball-1 satellite observed a compression
of the Earth's magnetotail on October 19, 1995, at a distance
of about 23 RE.
Within 8 hours of these observations, the satellite was intermittently
in the magnetosheath and in magnetotail. Observations of plasma
jetting and double ion beam velocity distributions indicate the
possible occurrence of strong reconnection in the cusp or on open
field lines. The compression of the tail and the plasma flow
and magnetic field directions suggest that magnetotail was strongly
influenced by the presence of a northward component in the IMF.
This influence is also seen in the strong and variable convection
of the hot plasma observed in the tail. Comparison of magnetic
field and plasma measurements made by the Wind spacecraft in the
solar wind and by Interball-1 in the magnetosheath shows good
agreement, with allowance for the draping of the magnetic field
in the magnetosheath. We have identified changes in the solar
wind ram pressure and IMF components responsible for magnetopause
motions, including changes in the lMF facilitating reconnection
in the cusp or on open field lines.
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