A key indicator of the galactic environment of the Sun is provided by the
magnetic field in the interstellar medium (ISM), which influences the shape of
the heliosphere. The direction of the nearby interstellar magnetic field (ISMF)
is determined from starlight polarized in the ISM. The local ISMF direction is
found from the ISMF direction that provides the best fit to the polarization
position angles of nearby stars, using weighted fits to the data. New
polarization observations are included in the analysis. The best-fitting ISMF
is close to the magnetic field direction traced by the center of the Ribbon of
energetic neutral atoms, discovered by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer
spacecraft. Both the magnetic field and kinematics of the local ISM are
consistent with a scenario where the local ISM is a fragment of the Loop I
superbubble. An ordered component of the local ISMF is found in a region where
PlanetPol data show that polarization increases with distance. It extends to
within 8 parsecs of the Sun and implies a weak curvature in the nearby ISMF.
Variations from the ordered component indicate turbulence of +/-23 deg. The
local ISMF is generally uniform in direction over spatial scales of 8-200
parsecs so that it appears similar to interarm magnetic fields. The
best-fitting ISMF direction also agrees with the position of tail-in spatial
asymmetries in GeV-TeV galactic cosmic rays. The peculiar geometrical relation
between the CMB dipole moment, the heliosphere nose, and local ISMF is
supported by these new results. Radiative torques are not likely to play a role
in grain alignment for these polarizations.
