Voyager on cusp of entering interstellar space
Posted: Sat, Jun 16, 2012, 8:52 AM ET (1252 GMT)
Data returned from NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft suggest it is on the verge of crossing the heliopause into interstellar space. Project scientists said this week that they have seen in recent weeks a "very rapid escalation" in the number of galactic cosmic rays detected by the spacecraft, something they said they would expect to see once the spacecraft crossed the heliopause, the boundary between the area of space under the influence of the Sun's magnetic field and interstellar space. However, scientists add they have not yet seen a corresponding sharp decline in the intensity of energetic particles generated within the heliosphere, and they are analyzing data on the direction of magnetic field lines in the vicinity of the spacecraft, which will provide conclusive evidence of when the spacecraft passes into interstellar space.
Data returned from NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft suggest it is on the verge of crossing the heliopause into interstellar space. Project scientists said this week that they have seen in recent weeks a "very rapid escalation" in the number of galactic cosmic rays detected by the spacecraft, something they said they would expect to see once the spacecraft crossed the heliopause, the boundary between the area of space under the influence of the Sun's magnetic field and interstellar space. However, scientists add they have not yet seen a corresponding sharp decline in the intensity of energetic particles generated within the heliosphere, and they are analyzing data on the direction of magnetic field lines in the vicinity of the spacecraft, which will provide conclusive evidence of when the spacecraft passes into interstellar space.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Starship explodes during preparations for static-fire test
Posted: Sun, Jun 22 6:52 AM ET (1052 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Friday, July 4
Boeing to Release Second Quarter Results on July 29
Boeing — 9:42 am ET (1342 GMT) Boeing Delivers Next-Generation O3b mPOWER Satellites to SES
Boeing — 9:42 am ET (1342 GMT) Boeing Secures $2.8B Contract to Enhance U.S. Strategic SATCOM Capabilities
Boeing — 9:41 am ET (1341 GMT) Space Force picks Boeing for $2.8B strategic communications program
Defense News — 9:41 am ET (1341 GMT) The Inevitable Militarization Of Space?
Eurasia Review — 9:40 am ET (1340 GMT) |
