Giant Ribbon at the Edge of the Solar System: Mystery Solved?

Hi ATS!

I`m not really a science viz, but this is fascinating read from NASA today.

January 15, 2010: Last year, when NASA's IBEX (Interstellar Boundary Explorer) spacecraft discovered a giant ribbon at the edge of the solar system, researchers were mystified. They called it a "shocking result" and puzzled over its origin. Now the mystery may have been solved.

"This is an important finding," says Arik Posner, IBEX program scientist at NASA Headquarters. "Interstellar space just beyond the edge of the solar system is mostly unexplored territory. Now we know, there could be a strong, well-organized magnetic field sitting right on our doorstep."

The solar system is passing through a region of the Milky Way filled with cosmic rays and interstellar clouds. The magnetic field of our own sun, inflated by the solar wind into a bubble called the "heliosphere," substantially protects us from these things. However, the bubble itself is vulnerable to external fields. A strong magnetic field just outside the solar system could press against the heliosphere and interact with it in unknown ways. Will this strengthen our natural shielding—or weaken it? No one can say.

What do you think?

Realated ATS Thread by argentus

Mods please delete saw this posted few minutes ago.

Originally posted by Hithe Merinos
Mods please delete saw this posted few minutes ago.

whoa! you have the exact same thread as someone else. twins separated at birth?

www.abovetopsecret.com...

[edit on 15-1-2010 by reject]

Please contribute to the preceding thread.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Closing this one

[edit on 15/1/10 by masqua]