The distant magnetotail's response to a strong interplanetary magnetic field By - Twisting, flattening, and field line bending

During an interval of strong interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) By, while ISEE 3 was in the distant magnetotail, the north lobe was observed south of the ecliptic plane. Lobe field lines were strongly bent in the direction of the IMF, and a dense boundary layer plasma was observed. During the interval, magnetopause normals pointed in the z direction, although ISEE 3 was near the dawnside ecliptic plane. The observations are interpreted in terms of field line bending within a twisted and flattened magnetotail.