Satellite reveals solar system's tail
Posted: Sat, Jul 13, 2013, 10:57 AM ET (1457 GMT)
A NASA satellite has revealed the tail of solar wind from the Sun for the first time, showing that it has a structure like a four-leaf clover. NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) satellite detected the tail by measuring neutral particles created by collisions of other particles the the heliopause, where the solar wind meets the interstellar medium. The IBEX data shows that the solar wind has a tail of particles with four lobes, two of faster particles from the Sun's poles and two of slower particles from near the Sun's equator, extending into interstellar space. Astronomers said they don't yet know the length of this tail.
A NASA satellite has revealed the tail of solar wind from the Sun for the first time, showing that it has a structure like a four-leaf clover. NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) satellite detected the tail by measuring neutral particles created by collisions of other particles the the heliopause, where the solar wind meets the interstellar medium. The IBEX data shows that the solar wind has a tail of particles with four lobes, two of faster particles from the Sun's poles and two of slower particles from near the Sun's equator, extending into interstellar space. Astronomers said they don't yet know the length of this tail.
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