Earlier results from analyses of auroral all-sky data obtained on several series of conjugate flights along the College, Alaska, magnetic meridian are reevaluated, and it is suggested that while the diffuse aurora is conjugate, the discrete aurora is nonconjugate but still on closed field lines. The suggestion that the discrete aurora is nonconjugate is contrary to an earlier analysis of the same data set. The old analysis ascribed observed shifts in conjugate points within the discrete auroras to auroral-activity-related perturbations in the geomagnetic field, but it has been impossible to find a physical mechanism for the perturbations. The nonconjugacy likely reflects that the processes creating the visual discrete auroral forms operate independently in each hemisphere. Assuming that the discrete aurora is a consequence of field-aligned currents, we suggest that the observed hemispherical differences in the discrete auroras may be caused by an inter-hemispherical field-aligned current component. Such a current component will result from the penetration of the interplanetary magnetic field into the magnetosphere and should primarily depend on the sign of By. The conjugate flight data previously analyzed and published appear to qualitatively support this conclusion.¿ 1997 American Geophysical Union