magnetotail

[mag-nee-tuh-teyl]

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.

magnetotail

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of magnetotail¹

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

Example Sentences

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.

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

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An important part of the magnetosphere is the magnetotail.

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"We speculate that the observed magnetic pulsations by InSight to date are associated with fluctuations in the induced magnetotail and on the magnetospheric boundary," the researchers added in the study.

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Matching these observations to activity in Earth’s magnetotail, Østgaard and his colleagues found reconnection events coincide with a decrease in auroral asymmetries.

Read more on Scientific American