Voyager 1, a year in interstellar space - Computer Point

Into NASA announces the passing of the most extreme boundaries of the region of the Solar System. This is confirmed by data on the density of the plasma produced by scientists

Rome – Launched in 1977, the space probe Voyager 1 is officially in interstellar space, having crossed the outer boundary of the heliosphere 25 August last year . Published in the famous U.S. magazine Science , the announcement of NASA – in collaboration with researchers at Iowa University – started the elaboration of data collected over the last few months and by a new measurement of the plasma density of particles at low energy surrounding the probe, to show a significant increase of those cosmic rays that are produced from regions outside the solar system.

After a journey of nearly 40 years, the U.S. probe is the first man-made object to reach the distance of 19 billion kilometers from the Sun . On 25 August 2012, the instruments adopted by NASA scientists had detected a sharp decrease of the solar cosmic rays , dropped to zero intensity that bordered on, and the presence of particles of different nature. “Immediately we thought we had passed the boundary of interstellar space,” he now remembered Randy Jokipii, an expert in theoretical physics at the University of Arizona space. To balance the optimism of Jokipii there were more cautious by the project Cosmic Ray Subsystem (CRS) of Voyager 1: the decrease of cosmic rays caused by the sun, and a change of direction of the field magnetic different than what scientists had expected, they could distinguish the outer layers of the heliosphere.
The confirmation of overcoming the boundaries of the Solar System by t he U.S. space probe has now reached via the new study released by NASA on April 9, 2013, the instruments on the spacecraft have detected data which are initially drawn to Earth, showed a density the plasma 40 times higher than that of the outer levels of the heliosphere, proof of the fact that Voyager viaggiasse in interstellar space.Into “For several years, the heliopause was defined by the change in the density of the plasma – said Donald Gurnett of Iowa University – the smoking gun that was missing was, therefore, the data on this parameter, the value of which in April was about 80 times greater than that typical of the heliosphere and near the minimum of interstellar space. “

Mauro Old

Image source: NASA