Voyager 1 detects unpredicted new realm at edge of Solar System: Magnetic Highway

Originally posted by theabsolutetruth
reply to post by Philosophile

 

At the edge of the Solar System is the magnetic Heliosphere, a bubble created by the sun effectively. Voyager 1 has just got to the edge of this and has detected a new unpredicted area, where charged particles from the galaxy (outside of the Solar System) are entering the heliosphere. Essentially a ''Magnetic Highway'', the youtube Vid on the OP is a good visual reference, the first part is the heliosphere and the second part is Voyager 1 entering the ''Magnetic Highway''.

Here's the video again

edit on 3-12-2012 by theabsolutetruth because: (no reason given)

Oh, well that's cool. Does it serve any significance though? Since it's unpredicted and whatnot.

Watching the animation makes me think that people are looking at it backwards. We're the ones moving, the flow past is the environment rushing past. The further we leave the sun, the more we slow, eventually settling down still in open space, where cosmic rays are flying about past us.

Then the sun would speed off and we'd never be able to catch it again. Adios home, at that point me thinks.

Perhaps the universal empty space is all magnetic outside of our sun and other stars influence?

would be kinda cool if we broke through to interstellar space on the 21st

maybe thats what the mayans were predicting....

maybe we will learn something we never even imagined... just imagin...

reply to post by Phage


It is kind of surprising that this wasn't predicted, I guess the presumed Solar System model didn't account for an additional magnetic zone previously, or at least the interactions of such as an effective highway.

reply to post by goou111


Nice thought, that would be awesome.

Ripping space fabric? Another dimension? The possibilities...

reply to post by Philosophile


Significantly new physics to work with, new galactic dynamics, many new possibilities on how the galaxy interacts with the Solar System and hence other particle interactions within the galaxy, particle physics in general, Solar System dynamics in general....

reply to post by theabsolutetruth


Nice find, that gives some more food for thought, with regarding how magnetism may effect more than we may know..

Grim

Or it could be that something finds it on the 21st. Just sayin. Maybe this magnetic ribbon is an interstellar tripwire.

In any event it is super exciting! We are venturing into completely unknown territory. There could be any number of huge discoveries just around the corner here.

Originally posted by pot8er
Watching the animation makes me think that people are looking at it backwards. We're the ones moving, the flow past is the environment rushing past. The further we leave the sun, the more we slow, eventually settling down still in open space, where cosmic rays are flying about past us.

Then the sun would speed off and we'd never be able to catch it again. Adios home, at that point me thinks.

Perhaps the universal empty space is all magnetic outside of our sun and other stars influence?

I wonder what exactly the heliosphere bubble is 'made of.' The outer boundary, I mean. The part that separates the inside from the outside. Is it a substance? Is it a 'force field' of sorts? Can the Voyagers escape it into interstellar space, or will it rip them to shreds or even bounce them back? Will they POP the Heliosphere like a Helium balloon? (LoL... I really don't believe for a minute they can do it any harm, but the words Heliosphere and Bubble DO make me thing of a huge balloon full of gases surrounding our Solar System!) So, following that analogy... what is the 'balloon' itself actually made of?

the way i see this is that interstellar space is much like our oceans with massive currents we can use to sail to new destinations.

Originally posted by new_here
. . .what is the 'balloon' itself actually made of?

I would say that it is the "end" of the "pressure" made by the solar wind.

It is the equilibrium zone between the inside and ouside pressures.

Blue skies.

Im sure this has been mentioned in a thread a few months ago......

Eitherway, I will mention the same as I did on that thread.

In the late 1980s a book was published called "Contact From Planet Koldas", which is about a 20 year episode of an Earth person contactee, with humans from a Planet Koldas, Anyway in one of the recorded messages, the Koldasian explains how they travel thru space.................Are you ready for this!!! Note this recording was made in 1968...the book says.

The Koldasians told Edwin that they travel Thru space in their Electro Magnetic craft.......

VIA the Magnetic HIGHWAYS that exist throughout the Universe and connect one planet to the next, one star system to the next, one galaxy to the next etc etc....
The said they travel FASTER than the speed of light on these highways..

From 1968!!!! this knowledge was told.

Note: these are not my tales, read for yourselves...

rune.galactic.to...

Also note, that Solar winds from our Sun, can travel at 800km per second or faster....thats 3,000,000 Kilometers per hour.....Earth to the moon in 3 minutes or something.......

Originally posted by grey580
Time to relearn stuff!

Electric Universe anyone?

Maybe another dimension outside the heliosphere?

Originally posted by theabsolutetruth
reply to post by goou111

 

Nice thought, that would be awesome.

Ripping space fabric? Another dimension? The possibilities...

Oh okay, we're thinking of alike possibilities...didn't see this post...I got too excited after reading the first few posts, and couldn't wait to add my "one cent" possibility of another dimension, which has been a secret thought of mine for quite awhile!

Perhaps Aliens have a rule book about first contact and the rule is that first contact is made once they get out of their own solar system and into this area. Right now the Intergalactic Council could be deciding which of their Ambassadors to send to this crazy planet. Who will get the short straw. Do they even have straws.



P

reply to post by pheonix358


My name is Marklar, from the planet marklar, around the star marklar in the marklar galaxy. Ha ha.

I think this is wonderful, I'm excited to hear what they find in the days to come. I can't wait for the day we reach inter-stellar space.

Originally posted by netwarrior
Or it could be that something finds it on the 21st. Just sayin. Maybe this magnetic ribbon is an interstellar tripwire.

Interesting possibility.

Just to add, IBEX was also sent to investigate the Shrinking Heliosphere and made some discoveries that varied to those predicted, though Voyager 1 has traveled the furthest and hence made this ''Magnetic Highway'' discovery.

IBEX

Initial data revealed a previously unpredicted "very narrow ribbon that is two to three times brighter than anything else in the sky".[11] Initial interpretations suggest that "the interstellar environment has far more influence on structuring the heliosphere than anyone previously believed".[10] "No one knows what is creating the ENA (energetic neutral atoms) ribbon, but everyone agrees that it means the textbook picture of the heliosphere—in which the solar system's enveloping pocket filled with the solar wind's charged particles is plowing through the onrushing 'galactic wind' of the interstellar medium in the shape of a comet—is wrong".[12] The Sun is currently traveling through the Local Interstellar Cloud, and the heliosphere's size and shape are key factors in determining its shielding power from cosmic rays. Should IBEX detect changes in the shape of the ribbon, that could show how the heliosphere is interacting with the Local Fluff.[13]It has also observed ENA's from the Earth's magnetosphere.[4]
In October 2010, significant changes were detected in the ribbon after six months, based on the second set of IBEX observations.[14]
"Our discovery of changes over six months in the IBEX ribbon and other neutral atoms propagating in from the edge of our solar system show that the interaction of our Sun and the galaxy is amazingly dynamic"
—D. McComas, IBEX principal investigator [14]
It went on to detect neutral atoms from outside the solar system, which were found to differ in composition from the Sun.[5] IBEX discovered the Sun has no bow shock.[5] The speed of the heliosphere in relation to the local cloud is thought to be 52,000 miles per hour, instead of previous estimate of 59,000 mph.[5] Those speeds equate to 25% less pressure on the Sun's heliosphere than previously thought.[5]

Perhaps the dynamics of this ''Magnetic Highway'' will shed light on the shrinking heliosphere

Solar Wind loses power: 50 year low

"The solar wind isn't inflating the heliosphere as much as it used to," says McComas. "That means less shielding against cosmic rays." In addition to weakened solar wind, "Ulysses also finds that the sun's underlying magnetic field has weakened by more than 30% since the mid-1990s," says Posner. "This reduces natural shielding even more." Unpublished Ulysses cosmic ray data show that, indeed, high energy (GeV) electrons, a minor but telltale component of cosmic rays around Earth, have jumped in number by about 20%. These extra particles pose no threat to people on Earth's surface. Our thick atmosphere and planetary magnetic field provide additional layers of protection that keep us safe. But any extra cosmic rays can have consequences. If the trend continues, astronauts on the Moon or en route to Mars would get a higher dose of space radiation. Robotic space probes and satellites in high Earth orbit face an increased risk of instrument malfunctions and reboots due to cosmic ray strikes. Also, there are controversial studies linking cosmic ray fluxes to cloudiness and climate change on Earth. That link may be tested in the years ahead.

Heliophysics

Understanding the Sun, Heliosphere, and Planetary Environments as a single connected system is the goal of the Science Mission Directorate's Heliophysics Research Program. In addition to solar processes, our domain of study includes the interaction of solar plasma and radiation with Earth, the other planets, and the Galaxy. By analyzing the connections between the Sun, solar wind, planetary space environments, and our place in the Galaxy, we are uncovering the fundamental physical processes that occur throughout the Universe. Understanding the connections between the Sun and its planets will allow us to predict the impacts of solar variability on humans, technological systems, and even the presence of life itself. We have already discovered ways to peer into the internal workings of the Sun and understand how the Earth's magnetosphere responds to solar activity. Our challenge now is to explore the full system of complex interactions that characterize the relationship of the Sun with the solar system. Understanding these connections is especially critical as we contemplate our destiny in the third millennium. Heliophysics is needed to facilitate the accelerated expansion of human experience beyond the confines of our Earthly home. Recent advances in technology allow us, for the first time, to realistically contemplate voyages beyond the solar system. There are three primary objectives that define the multi-decadal studies needed: To understand the changing flow of energy and matter throughout the Sun, Heliosphere, and Planetary Environments. To explore the fundamental physical processes of space plasma systems. To define the origins and societal impacts of variability in the Earth-Sun System.

I remember when they launched the voyagers, at the time I remember thinking what a waste of money it was. I fully expected that both the voyagers would be hit and destroyed by some cosmic debris or other material, long before they ever reached the edge of our galaxy.
Here we are 35 years later and the first voyager has actually made all the way to the edge of the galaxy,that`s a pretty amazing feat all in itself.