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Voyaging to the edge
The two Voyager spacecraft are near the outer edge of the solar system after traveling away from Earth for nearly 36 years. A look at what the Voyagers have encountered so far:
Solar wind and magnetic waves
Termination shock
Heliosheath
Bow shock
Solar wind and magnetic waves
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Solar wind
Hot ionized gas, or plasma, streams from the sun. |
Magnetic waves
Solar winds drag the sun’s magnetic field outward. As the sun rotates, the magnetic field ripples outward. |
Termination shock
Solar winds abruptly slow to subsonic speeds.
Heliosheath
The stacked-up ripples of the magnetic field tighten and solar particles form a bubbly, frothy outer region, theorists say. Some cosmic rays zigzag through the bubble region before following magnetic pathways toward the sun.
Bow shock
Beyond our solar system, interstellar waves are believed to be bent around the periphery of the sun’s influence.
