Heliosheath
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:Voyager 1 entering heliosheath region.jpg
The heliosheath is the zone between the termination shock and the heliopause at the outer border of the solar system. It lies along the edge of the heliosphere, a "bubble" caused by solar winds.
The heliosheath's distance from the Sun is approximately 80 to 100 astronomical units (AU). The current mission of the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 space probes includes studying the heliosheath.
In May 2005, NASA announced that Voyager 1 had crossed the termination shock and entered the heliosheath in December 2004, at a distance of 94 AU. An earlier report that this had occurred in August 2002 (at 85 AU) is now generally believed to have been premature.
[edit]
External links
- Observing objectives of NASA's Interstellar Probe.
- CNN: NASA: Voyager I enters solar system's final frontier - May 25, 2005
- New Scientist: Voyager 1 reaches the edge of the solar system - May 25, 2005
[edit]