Latitudinal variation of the underlying heliospheric magnetic field direction: Comparison of the Ulysses first and second orbits

We discuss the underlying direction of the heliospheric magnetic field meas ured by Ulysses in the latitude range 6 degrees S-65 degrees S by examining distributions of the magnetic field azimuthal angle with respect to the si mple Parker spiral model. During the first Ulysses traversal of this latitu de range in 1992-1994, while solar activity was declining, the shape of the distributions obtained at high latitudes in the fast solar wind differed f rom that at lower latitudes. In the present data set, obtained during risin g solar activity, both field polarities are present at all latitudes and th e peaks of the distributions agree with the predicted spiral direction to f irst approximation. However, compared to the first orbit, a significantly g reater percentage of the observed field vectors have large deviations from the spiral direction.