Comparison of Heliospheric Models with Observations of the Voyager and IBEX Spacecraft
Abstract
Results of modeling the heliosphere are compared with observations of the Voyager spacecraft and the IBEX mission simultaneously. The MHD solutions are tested against observational data for different strengths and orientations of the local interstellar magnetic field (LIMF) used in the simulations for asymmetric magnetized solar wind flow. We show that the model reproduces approximately the position of the IBEX ribbon and the termination shock crossing distance for Voyager 2, when the LIMF vector lies in the proximity of the hydrogen deflection plane with the inclination angle to the local interstellar flow equal to 39° ± 9° and its magnitude is 2.4 ± 0.3 μG. In ecliptic coordinates this solution corresponds to the LIMF vector pointing from (longitude, latitude) = (227° ± 7°, 35° ± 7°).