The two‐lobe structure of the distant (X ≥ 200 Re) magnetotail

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Abstract
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 Re 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 Re, the maximum thickness of the plasmasheet at its center is ∼ 9‐15 Re, similar to near‐earth observations. The total north‐south dimension of the tail is ∼ 53‐59 Re. From an analysis of the first deep tail pass data, the east‐west dimension of the tail is determined to be ∼ 45 Re. Maximum tail deviations in the north‐south direction are only ∼ 6°, as measured from the earth.