It appears we are in the middle of crossing over into interstellar
space. A little heat and new cosmic rays that normally cannot go
deep. So for the first time ever mankind is about to sample space
outside of the envelop provided by our sun. it took thirty five
years to get there. I do not think we are expecting surprises or
could measure one if it is encountered. It may be enough to measure
to heat of the interface as that becomes a way to detect it from
different angles in the future.
And yes, this an achievement easily written up in the history books
even though we are not going to stumble into Cuba yet.
I wonder if the baseline between Voyager and Earth can be used to
determine the precise speed and direction of the Earth or even if
this device was rigged for determining any of that.
Humanity escapes
the solar system: Voyager 1 signals that it has reached the edge of
interstellar space - 11billion miles away
By EDDIE WRENN
14 June 2012
With absolutely no
attempt at hyperbole at all, it is fair to say that this is one of -
if not the - biggest achievement of the human race.
For, as we speak, an
object conceived in the human mind, and built by our tools, and
launched from our planet, is sailing out of the further depths of our
solar system - and will be the first object made by man to sail out
into interstellar space.
The Voyager 1, built
by Nasa and launched in 1977 has spent the last 35 years steadily
increasing its distance from Earth, and is now now 17,970,000,000km -
or 11,100,000,000miles - away, travelling at 10km a second.
Indications over
the last week implies that Voyager 1 is now leaving the heliosphere -
the last vestige of this solar system.
The probe is still
detecting 'spikes' in the intensity of cosmic ray electrons - which
lead scientists to think it's still within the 'heliosheath', the
very outer edge of our solar system.
The Voyager probe has
been travelling towards the outer reaches of the solar system since
1977 - it has enough batteries to last until 2020, scientists
estimate
The Atlantic reports
that the Voyager 1 - which is still managing to communicate with
Earth with radio waves that reach us 16 hours later - is beginning
to experience a bit of heat.
It is detecting more
energetic particles around it, implying it it at the very edge of the
heliosheath, which is like a bubble around the solar system,
protecting us from the cosmic winds of deep space.
The Voyager entered
the heliosphere in 2004
According to The
Atlantic, certain cosmic rays have a hard time entering the
heliosphere, but as of last month, the sum of these slower particles
increased by about 10 per cent.
This does not
necessarily mean we have crossed over - but it means we are getting
close.
For the past year,
Voyager 1 used its instruments to explore the new region. It
appeared to be the cosmic doldrums where solar winds streaming out
from the sun at 1 million mph have dramatically eased
Voyager is now
detecting the first traces of 'interstellar winds' - the signs it is
finally reaching the edges of solar system
Voyager scientist
Edward Stone told The Atlantic: 'This is the first time any
spacecraft has been there.
'We're looking at our
data every day - we listen to these spacecraft every day, for a few
hours every day - to keep track of what's going on. ... It's very
exciting from a scientific point of view, when you're seeing
something that nobody's seen before.
'Since nothing's ever
been there before, we don't know what it will look like, which makes
it a little hard to recognize "it" at all.
'That's the exciting
thing.'
It will be hard to
define when Voyager has left. It will not be a clean break - the
molecules will thin out less, and there will be no wall or set
boundary.
What will the Voyager
find out there? Probably close to an absolute vacuum, save for a few
long-range comets which still orbit the sun.
Scientists expect to
see several telltale signs when Voyager 1 finally crosses the
boundary including a change in the magnetic field direction and the
type of wind.
Interstellar wind is
slower, colder and denser than solar wind.
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