The heliosphere is a gigantic “bubble” in outer space that surrounds the solar system and interstellar space. This giant “bubble” shoots particles at all times, which in turn means that the solar system is protected from dangerous radiation.
So far, only two ships have managed to break through the “shield” of the solar system. Precisely for this reason, according to the Danish daily, the area is still relatively little explored Extra magazine.
Data from three different NASA spacecraft now takes a closer look at what the outer edges of the solar system look like, and several scientists have been surprised at the details they have seen.
It took several decades
Several researchers looked at data from the IBEX spacecraft, launched in 2009. The goal was to map the heliosphere. It comes out in one I study about is published in the scientific journal Nature Astronomy.
The only objects that have come close to probing space beyond our solar system are the Voyager probes.
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Voyager 1 and 2 were launched in the 1970s and it took several decades for them to actually reach the edge of the heliosphere.
35 years after leaving Earth, the probes broke the barrier between the heliosphere and interstellar space, the heliopause.
New discoveries
Now the researchers have analyzed the probe measurements and found a sharp change in the solar wind pressure.
The discovery made it possible to study the border more closely, as well as to get a more detailed picture of its actual shape.
Several giant ripples, or waves, have also been discovered in the same heliopause.
The waves were the size of ten astronomical units, where one unit corresponds to the distance between the earth and the sun.
I will renew the equipment
The researchers also noted large differences in the distance from the border area itself.
This suggests that the heliosphere is constantly changing and that the shape of the protective “bubble” is not uniform.
Several astronomers now hope to learn more about the outer boundary of the solar system.
NASA plans to replace the IBEX probe with IMAP in 2025. It will also replace the equipment, making it easier to map the area.
