1. Space Physics Interactive Data Resource-II
The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) is a part of the Sun's magnetic field that is carried into interplanetary space by the solar wind. The interplanetary magnetic field lines are said to be "frozen in" to the solar wind plasma. Because of the Sun's rotation, the IMF, like the solar wind, travels outward in a spiral pattern that is often compared to the pattern of water sprayed from a rotating lawn sprinkler. The IMF originates in regions on the Sun where the magnetic field is "open"--that is, where field lines emerging from one region do not return to a conjugate region but extend virtually indefinitely into space. The direction (polarity, sense) of the field in the Sun's northern hemisphere is opposite that of the field in the southern hemisphere. (The polarities reverse with each solar cycle.)

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