Voyager Makes an Interstellar Discovery

Science@NASA ^ | 12.23.2009 | Dr. Tony Phillips

[PeaceBeWithYou]

Right out of Roddenberry's Star Trek.

Clickable pics open in a new window

Voyager flies through the outer bounds
of the heliosphere en route to interstellar
space. A strong magnetic field reported by
Opher et al in the Dec. 24, 2009, issue of
Nature is delineated in yellow.

An artist's concept of the Local Interstellar Cloud,
also known as the "Local Fluff."

The anatomy of the heliosphere. Since
this illustration was made, Voyager 2
has joined Voyager 1 inside the heliosheath,
a thick outer layer where the solar wind is
slowed by the pressure of interstellar gas.

[allmost]

Archaic tech. Let’s try again :)

[The Drowning Witch]

My God....We’re motes of sand a-drift in a river the size of the Mississippi.

[DesertSapper]

"an interstellar cloud that physics says should not exist"

Then it must not be there because physicists know everything!

[Frantzie]

VeeGer is still sending back data? Didn’t another one leave the solar system?

[GeronL]

cool!!

Solar Systems are like bubbles in the fluff!

[Skooz]

bfl

[Blood of Tyrants]

We are less than that.

[SaxxonWoods]

“There could be interesting times ahead!” says Opher.

There should be elaboration upon such a statement. This isn’t the Perils of Pauline. Or is it?

[dog breath]

Massive amounts of hot air and fluff, at first I thought this was another article about Obama.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Thanks for posting. This really hits home for me as my Dad lead the program to develop and manufacture the powerplants that power Voyager 1 and 2. I really enjoy reading about these amazing spacecraft.

[buccaneer81]

Space ping!

[colinhester]

How cool!

[The Magical Mischief Tour]

Then it must not be there because physicists know everything!

No... that would be Algore.

[jonrick46]

Does this mean that we have to traverse a 4000 degree “fluff” zone on our way out of the solar system? That appears like this is an impenetrable zone that keeps man trapped inside the solar system.

[El Sordo]

If only we were that big.

[Centurion2000]

Best $$ ever spent on a space probe ... 30+ years and STILL working ... paid in full.

[Nik Naym]

“Then it must not be there because physicists know everything! “

That’s funny, physicists will be the first to tell you that they do not.

[Centurion2000]

My God....We’re motes of sand a-drift in a river the size of the Mississippi.

Less than that. If the sun were a basketball in New Orleans, the nearest star would be a basketball ..... in Moscow, Russia.

[Pan_Yan]

* 11