magnetotail

American  

[mag-nee-tuh-teyl] / mægˈni təˌteɪl /

noun

Astronomy.

1. the narrow and elongated region of the magnetosphere of the earth or of another planet that extends in the direction away from the sun.

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magnetotail Scientific  

/ măg-nē′tō-tāl′ /

1. The elongated extension of the Earth's magnetosphere on the side facing away from the Sun. The magnetotail is shaped by the pressure of the solar wind as it streams around the magnetosphere, compressing it on the side facing the Sun and stretching it on the opposite side into a long, taillike shape trailing far into interplanetary space.

2. See more at magnetosphere

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Etymology

Origin of magnetotail

First recorded in 1970–75; magneto- + tail ¹

Example Sentences

This path will carry them through an unexplored region of Earth's distant magnetotail, the part of Earth's magnetic environment that extends away from the Sun.

From Science Daily • Mar. 14, 2026

The model shows one set of open-ended field lines emerging from the poles and trailing outward behind the planet in the magnetotail, the narrow teardrop-shaped portion of the magnetosphere pointing away from the sun.

From Science Daily • May 6, 2024

The magnetotail is the part of the magnetosphere that extends away from the Sun, in the direction of the solar wind flow.

From Science Daily • Oct. 30, 2023

An important part of the magnetosphere is the magnetotail.

From Science Daily • Oct. 30, 2023

The three spacecraft will round off their cosmic dance in the spring of 1985, with the release of barium and lithium into the so-called magnetotail, the very edge of the earth's magnetic field.

From Time Magazine Archive