spacetoday.net: Scientists disagree over whether Voyager 1 has left the solar system

Scientists disagree over whether Voyager 1 has left the solar system

Posted: Tue, Aug 20, 2013, 8:39 AM ET (1239 GMT)
Voyager illustration (NASA/JPL)

For the second time in less than six months, one team of scientists reported that Voyager 1 has left the solar system, while official mission scientists disagreed. Last week, a team of scientists reported in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters that they believe Voyager 1 passed through the heliopause and into interstellar space last July. That conclusion is based on particle counts by one instrument on the spacecraft, although there was no change in the magnetic field measured by the spacecraft. In a statement, Voyager project scientist Ed Stone disagreed with the paper's conclusion, stating there are competing models to explain the data returned by Voyager. Earlier this year, JPL also disagreed with the results of another study that also concluded Voyager had entered interstellar space.