Author Topic: More evidence that Voyager has exited the solar system  (Read 2935 times)

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famousdayandyear

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More evidence that Voyager has exited the solar system
« on: October 06, 2012, 11:49:52 pm »
NOTE:  Graphics/Images @ Link

SciGuy
A science blog with Eric Berger
More evidence that Voyager has exited the solar system
Friday, October 5, 2012

Something very, very interesting is happening with Voyager 1, the human probe that’s the very farthest from Earth.

New data from the spacecraft, which I will discuss below, indicate Voyager 1 may have exited the solar system for good. If true, this would mark a truly historic moment for the human race — sending a spacecraft beyond the edge of our home solar system.

At last check, NASA scientists said they were not yet ready to officially declare that Voyager 1 had officially exited the solar system by crossing the heliopause.

To cross this boundary scientists say they would need to observe three things:

1. An increase in high-energy cosmic rays originating from outside our solar system

2. A drop in charged particles emanating from the sun.

3. A change in the direction of the magnetic field.

As I reported in June,  in regard to the first point, scientists have observed a sustained increase in galactic cosmic rays during recent months.

More galactic cosmic rays are striking Voyager 1. (NASA)

With respect to the second point, there has been a dramatic and sustained drop in charged particles (principally protons) originating from the Sun that have struck the spacecraft.

And by dramatic, I mean dramatic. Here’s how it looks:

Rate at which Voyager 1 is being bombarded by particles such as protons. (NASA)

I have reached out to Edward Stone, the Voyager project scientist based at the California Institute of Technology, who has oversight of the mission. He has not responded to my query about whether this means Voyager has truly exited the system.

The third question is whether the magnetic field affecting Voyager has changed. That data is not yet definitive, said Dave McComas, a heliopause expert with the Southwest Research Institute. “In the end, the magnetometer data will have to tell us if Voyager1 has crossed the heliopause or the disconnection boundary,” McComas told me.

Schematic of the Voyagers and the heliopause. (McComas and Schwadron, ApJ)

However Nick Suntzeff, a Texas A&M University astronomer, said based upon the stunning drop in charged particles, something is definitely happening to Voyager that NASA should be commenting upon:

    “Even without the magnetometer data, the Voyager 1 data shows that it has gone through a huge barrier at the edge of the solar system. These guys are defining it based on their theory which requires a transition zone where the magnetic fields decouple. Maybe this is true. But the fact remains that the satellite has gone through a discontinuity in cosmic ray fluxes that is incredible. It is interacting with the boundary of the Solar System. I think that the data stand on their merit – something wonderful ( a line from the movie 2010) has happened”

Which is to say that NASA may be making an important announcement about Voyager 1 in the not too distant future.

http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2012/10/more-evidence-that-voyager-has-exited-the-solar-system/
« Last Edit: October 06, 2012, 11:51:36 pm by famousdayandyeaR² »

Offline Labette

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Re: More evidence that Voyager has exited the solar system
« Reply #1 on: October 07, 2012, 12:21:25 am »

Offline Rapunzel

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Re: More evidence that Voyager has exited the solar system
« Reply #2 on: October 07, 2012, 12:38:19 am »
Very interesting.....
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Oceander

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famousdayandyear

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Re: More evidence that Voyager has exited the solar system
« Reply #4 on: October 07, 2012, 12:50:22 am »
r u trekkies funnin me?

Oceander

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Re: More evidence that Voyager has exited the solar system
« Reply #5 on: October 07, 2012, 12:55:09 am »
r u trekkies funnin me?

No.  It's actually a very interesting story.  I've followed it off and on for a while; I really do appreciate your posting it.  I wonder how long the craft will survive once it's outside the heliopause and fully exposed to intergalactic cosmic rays.

famousdayandyear

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Re: More evidence that Voyager has exited the solar system
« Reply #6 on: October 07, 2012, 12:57:14 am »
No.  It's actually a very interesting story.  I've followed it off and on for a while; I really do appreciate your posting it.  I wonder how long the craft will survive once it's outside the heliopause and fully exposed to intergalactic cosmic rays.

Guess it will become, wait for it,  d-a-a-r-r-k matter.

Oceander

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Re: More evidence that Voyager has exited the solar system
« Reply #7 on: October 07, 2012, 01:00:50 am »
Guess it will become, wait for it,  d-a-a-r-r-k matter.

Hee, hee!

Offline SouthTexas

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Re: More evidence that Voyager has exited the solar system
« Reply #8 on: October 07, 2012, 04:11:19 pm »

Offline alicewonders

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Re: More evidence that Voyager has exited the solar system
« Reply #9 on: October 07, 2012, 04:19:30 pm »

This is so cool!
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Offline Ford289HiPo

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Re: More evidence that Voyager has exited the solar system
« Reply #10 on: October 25, 2012, 01:00:19 am »
No.  It's actually a very interesting story.  I've followed it off and on for a while; I really do appreciate your posting it.  I wonder how long the craft will survive once it's outside the heliopause and fully exposed to intergalactic cosmic rays.

This brings up two questions:

1. Since this is the first man-made object to leave the solar system, how do we know what a galactic cosmic ray is, and how does it differ from a normal run-of-the-mill cosmic ray?

2. Will the Klingons shoot this one too?
I wonder when the lies will stop and truth begin, even as grim as the truth may be. And then I remember that for 70 years, the reign of terror in Russia called itself "the people's government." We have so far to fall, yet we are falling fast and Hell yawns to receive us.

Oceander

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Re: More evidence that Voyager has exited the solar system
« Reply #11 on: October 25, 2012, 02:50:24 am »
This brings up two questions:

1. Since this is the first man-made object to leave the solar system, how do we know what a galactic cosmic ray is, and how does it differ from a normal run-of-the-mill cosmic ray?

2. Will the Klingons shoot this one too?

A galactic cosmic ray would be one coming from interstellar space.  They do actually make it past the heliopause and into the solar system's local area; they just don't do it in great quantities.

Aside from that, perhaps we should be uploading the Beastie Boys' "Intergalactic" to the Voyager now?