THE POSITION OF THE MAGNETOTAIL NEUTRAL SHEET IN THE NEAR-EARTH REGION

The position of the near‐earth neutral sheet throughout the nightside region between R = 5 RE and R = 8.8 RE is examined statistically using magnetic field data from AMPTE/CCE. As has been demonstrated previously, the latitudinal position of the neutral sheet is primarily controlled by the dipole tilt angle. The position also depends on local time, radial distance, and magnetic activity. These dependencies may be represented by the empirical formula MLAT = − (0.14 Kp + 0.69) [cos(Φ)]1/3 (0.065 R0–8 − 0.16) DTA, where MLAT is the position in degrees of the neutral sheet relative to the magnetic equator, Kp is the 3‐hourly magnetic activity index, Φ is the magnetic local time in degrees (midnight = 0°), R is the radius in RE, and DTA is the dipole tilt angle in degrees. Copyright 1990 by the American Geophysical Union.