Source: University Of Maryland
NASA's Voyager 1 has passed into the border region at the edge of the solar system and now is sending back information about this never-before-explored area, say scientists at the University of Maryland.
"We have confirmed, for the first time, that Voyager 1 crossed the termination shock on Dec. 16, 2004," said Frank McDonald, a senior research scientist at the university's Institute for Physical Science and Technology, and a coauthor on two of four Voyager 1 papers published in the Sept. 23 issue of Science. The termination shock marks the beginning of a transition region at the edge of the solar system that is known as the heliosheath.
"Until now there has been debate among scientists on whether Voyager 1 had crossed the termination shock as early as 2002 or not until December 16, 2004," said McDonald, who coauthored "Crossing the Termination Shock into the Heliosheath: Magnetic Fields," and "Voyager 1 Explores the Termination Shock Region and the Heliosheath Beyond." Matthew Hill, George Gloeckler and Douglas C. Hamilton, scientists in the University of Maryland's Space Physics Group were among the coauthors of a third article, "Voyager 1 in the Foreshock, Termination Shock and Heliosheath," which presents other new observations on the spacecraft's entrance into the heliosheath. Gloeckler and his Space Physics group built one of the five main instruments on Voyager.
"The termination shock — a shock wave in the solar wind, that marks the slowing of the supersonic solar wind to subsonic speed — had been universally thought to be a prodigious accelerator of particles and our findings largely confirm that," said Hill, a research scientist in the department of physics. "This paper describes a remarkable increase in particle intensity with energetic characteristics unlike anything we have seen before. In addition, the LECP instrument indirectly determines that the solar wind speed in the heliosheath is clearly sub-sonic."
Article comments
1 - Vic tor Lana
I really enjoyed this fascinating post. I feel it covers so much ground, but in a very assiduous way so that we know so much more about this exciting news. It really puts into perspective the enormity of space and the distance of travel out there and what it will take for humans to one day go to another star. Sadly, it'll be long after we've joined the cosmic dust.
2 - Tan The Man
This is the first step before Star Trek: The Motion Picture happens...
3 - Victor Plenty
I thought that was Voyager Six. And that it would need to be a probe equipped with a warp drive, in order to reach a distant alien civilization in time to make it back for Kirk's promotion to admiral.
4 - Bennett
Ahhh... That's the one that crashed into an alien probe, became "Veeger" and damn near destroyed the Enterprise?
Thanks Victor Lana for the comment. I felt the same way about it. What amazing distance and concepts!
Tan: Heh!
Victor - see above... Heh!
5 - Victor Plenty
The one that crashed into an alien probe was Nomad.
"Err-or! Err-or! Ster-il-ize! STER-IL-IZE!"
6 - Ben Miraski
This is a great article. I love this science stuff :) If only we could find a way to make this journey ourselves.
To me, it is still amazing that these spacecraft are working. Imagine where science was at the time when these were sent up and think about how far it has come since then. It is amazing to think that something so simply designed back then could be traveling further and working longer than anything we have done more recently.
I saw a special on the first moon landing recently and they were saying that if it were proposed today, there is no way we would do it with all the risk involved. It makes you wonder when we will ever take the chances to do something like this ever again.
7 - Tan The Man
I remember it just being Voyager, assuming 1.
8 - Victor Lana
That is exactly the problem, Ben. We won't get back to the moon (human landing) until 2018. That means Mars will be around 2075 (I'll be dead then). So, if we ever want to get humans out there, to boldly go where no one has gone before, we better get our asses moving.
Wasn't Nomad in the episode that the computer thought Kirk was it's Daddy? I still think Veeger was Voyager in the movie with that hot bald chick.
9 - Victor Plenty
Yes, Nomad thought Kirk was its papa. Nomad was also the robotic probe that had crashed into an alien probe, and rebuilt itself from pieces of both robots. The resulting confusion of programming was why it was running around sterilizing everything it saw, until it found "the Kirk" and sat still long enough to get tricked into destroying itself.
And yes, V'ger in the movie with the hot bald chick was in fact Voyager. Voyager 6. In real life there have been only two Voyager probes, but Roddenberry optimistically thought we'd send out at least 4 more of the big galoots.
Now why does this conversation make me feel like I ought to be working at a comic book store?