Unusual Bow Shock and Magnetopause Locations During May 11-12, 1999

On May 11 and 12, 1999, when the solar wind proton density dropped to only about 3% of its nominal value, WIND and IMP 8 (and possibly Lunar Prospector) encountered the Earth's bow shock at unusually large distances. These observations, at 57-63 Re, correspond to the most distant crossings of the bow shock ever recorded. This paper will present observations from Interball-1 and Geotail, showing the bow shock near its nominal position, and from IMP 8 and WIND (and perhaps Lunar Prospector) crossing the bow shock at increasing radial distances. The bow shock is extremely weak by the time of its observation by WIND. However, a clear jump in both the magnetic field strength and solar wind bulk velocity is quite apparent, although with no significant changes in solar wind proton density. The nature of this dissipating shock will be discussed. Also, interball-1 has observed the magnetopause at an unusually large standoff distance. The observed motion of the magnetopause and bow shock will be compared with model predictions. This set of observations provide an excellent test case for the behavior of gas dynamic and MHD models under extreme conditions.