The Giacobini-Zinner magnetotail - Tail configuration and current sheet

The configuration and properties of the draped Giacobini-Zinner magnetotail and its field-reversing current sheet are studied using the combined magnetic field and plasma electron data sets obtained from the International Cometary Explorer spacecraft when it traversed (in October 1985) the comet 7800 km downstream of the nucleus. The MHD equations are used to derive pressure balance and plasma acceleration conditions. The implications of the various properties derived are examined, particularly with regard to the upstream near-nucleus region where the tail formation process occurs.