Orbital schematics and distance to the Magellanic Stream compared for two different models. The left column (panels (a), (c), and (e)) shows the clockwise orbit of previous works (B12; P18; L20), while the right column (panels (b), (d), and (f)) shows the counterclockwise orbit used in the model presented here. In panels (a) and (b), the orbital path of the SMC (red) around the LMC (blue) is shown at three different times in the y–z plane: before the interaction (top), at apoapsis when the Stream material is stripped out of the SMC (middle), and at their present-day orientation (bottom). Panels (c) and (d) show the present-day positions of the Clouds and the Stream in the two models with respect to the MW, again in the y–z plane. The arrow shows the direction of motion of the Clouds around the MW. Panels (e) and (f) both show line-of-sight distance to the gas in the simulated Stream (gray) and the stars in the Stream (orange). In previous orbital models (left column), the Stream stretches out and away from the MW leading to distances of 100–200 kpc. Whereas in the new orbital history presented here (right column), the Stream is stripped during the SMC’s counterclockwise motion around the LMC and then pushed into place through the ram pressure and frictional forces of the MW’s CGM leading to distances of as little as ∼20 kpc.