Voyager's New Discoveries (7/19/2008)
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| The solar system is not round, but has an asymmetric, squashed shape |
According to recent data transmitted from the Voyager 2 spacecraft, the solar system is not round, but has an asymmetric, squashed shape. The results are reported in Nature as part of a series of papers analyzing recent observations from the outer limits of the solar system and describing how the sun interacts with the nearby area of the galaxy.
The two Voyager spacecraft were launched in 1977 to observe Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, and they eventually extended their mission into the outer solar system. They continue to operate in remote, cold, and dark conditions, transmitting data back to Earth.
The current mission of both spacecraft is to reach and study the outer limits of the heliosphere, a magnetic bubble around the solar system created by the solar wind. The inner boundary of the transition zone between the heliosphere and the rest of interstellar space is called the "termination shock."
Caltech's Ed Stone, Morrisroe Professor of Physics and vice provost for special projects, and his colleagues report that Voyager 2 crossed this boundary closer to the sun than expected, which suggests that the heliosphere in this region is dented-pushed toward the sun by a local magnetic field.
To learn more about the heliosphere and Voyager's journey through the outer solar system, watch this online video, and to read the full article in Nature, click here.
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Caltech
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