Voyagers find new cluesabout the solar system
- 5 years ago
Washington — The latest data sent from Voyager 2 brought new insight and questions about the boundary region where the sun's influence ends and interstellar space begins.
According to NASA, the sun's energetic influence projects a bubble around the solar system called the heliosphere, Reuters says.
NASA reports that as Voyager 2 crossed the border region, or the heliopause, it registered an unexpectedly sharp difference in magnetic particles and plasma density.
Comparing the data from Voyager 1, researchers found the heliopause is thinner and less changeable by solar cycles than thought previously, the New York Times reports.
The New York Times reports that the sun creates the heliosphere bubble by blowing solar wind, or charged particles that are mostly hydrogen.
University of Iowa Professor Don Gurnett told the New York Times that solar winds clash with interstellar winds in the bubble's outer region, which could explain why a sharp boundary was formed.
According to NASA, the sun's energetic influence projects a bubble around the solar system called the heliosphere, Reuters says.
NASA reports that as Voyager 2 crossed the border region, or the heliopause, it registered an unexpectedly sharp difference in magnetic particles and plasma density.
Comparing the data from Voyager 1, researchers found the heliopause is thinner and less changeable by solar cycles than thought previously, the New York Times reports.
The New York Times reports that the sun creates the heliosphere bubble by blowing solar wind, or charged particles that are mostly hydrogen.
University of Iowa Professor Don Gurnett told the New York Times that solar winds clash with interstellar winds in the bubble's outer region, which could explain why a sharp boundary was formed.