Voyager on outskirts of the solar system
Posted: Tue, Dec 4, 2012, 6:42 AM ET (1142 GMT)
NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has yet to exit the solar system but has instead a previously unknown zone near its boundary, project scientists said Monday. The spacecraft, launched in 1977 and now about 18 billion kilometers from the Sun, has been nearing the heliopause, the boundary between the Sun's magnetic field and interstellar space. Instruments on the spacecraft have detected particles form interstellar space, but the magnetic field lines have not changed direction. Scientists believe that the spacecraft has entered a region they call the "magnetic highway" near the heliopause where magnetic field lines from the Sun connect with those from interstellar space, allowing for the transfer of particles observed by Voyager. Mission scientists speculate that Voyager 1 could finally pass the heliopause within the next couple of years, and perhaps within several months.
NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has yet to exit the solar system but has instead a previously unknown zone near its boundary, project scientists said Monday. The spacecraft, launched in 1977 and now about 18 billion kilometers from the Sun, has been nearing the heliopause, the boundary between the Sun's magnetic field and interstellar space. Instruments on the spacecraft have detected particles form interstellar space, but the magnetic field lines have not changed direction. Scientists believe that the spacecraft has entered a region they call the "magnetic highway" near the heliopause where magnetic field lines from the Sun connect with those from interstellar space, allowing for the transfer of particles observed by Voyager. Mission scientists speculate that Voyager 1 could finally pass the heliopause within the next couple of years, and perhaps within several months.| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Thales and Airbus to build next-generation radar imaging satellites
Posted: Sat, Jun 13 10:02 AM ET (1402 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Thursday, June 18
ESA Studies Doubling Ariane 6 Flight Cadence
Aviation Week — 5:21 am ET (0921 GMT) Northrop Grumman to Advance Military’s Protected Satellite Communications
Northrop Grumman — 5:20 am ET (0920 GMT) Two Offices Face a Shaky Future in U.S. Space Force Acquisition Overhaul
Aviation Week — 5:20 am ET (0920 GMT) Eutelsat Secures First Order Under French Defense Agreement
ViaSatellite — 5:20 am ET (0920 GMT) Blue Origin Says It Will Launch a New Glenn Rocket This Year
Bloomberg News — 5:16 am ET (0916 GMT) |
