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Description
The interaction between the supersonic solar wind and the Earth’s magnetic field forms the bow shock, a collisionless shock wave whose shape and position vary according to solar wind conditions and the interplanetary magnetic field. Empirical models have been developed to describe this shock surface, such as Chao et al. (2002) who proposed an axi-symmetric formulation dependent on solar wind parameters, and Lu et al. (2019), who introduced a threedimensional asymmetric model that, in addition to solar wind parameters, incorporates the effect of the terrestrial dipole tilt. In this study, both models were evaluated using 2703 bow shock crossings observed by the MMS (Magnetospheric Multiscale) mission, in order to assess their ability to reproduce the shock shape and location. Although the Chao et al. (2002) model provides an excellent average representation of the bow shock, particularly in the dayside region, its axi-symmetric nature limits its ability to describe lateral and nightside asymmetries. In contrast, the Lu et al. (2019) model more accurately captures the observed three-dimensional asymmetries, exhibiting better physical consistency and improved global agreement with in situ observations.