The coronal and interplanetary current sheet in early 1976

Abstract

A comparison of Helios 1 and 2 observations of the interplanetary sector pattern in early 1976 with the maximum brightness curves in the K coronameter data at 1.5 solar radii shows that the latter may be identified with the footprints of the sector boundary surface to an accuracy of about 10 deg. The sector boundary surface probably extended to about 15 deg in the Northern Hemisphere and to about 30 deg in the Southern Hemisphere, with little change between 1.5 solar radii and 1 AU. The surface was warped appreciably from a single titled plane (a dipole configuration) suggesting a significant magnetic quadrupole contribution.