Interstellar Medium Flow into the Solar System
[link to www.redorbit.com]

[snip]

An auxiliary measurement made by IBEX is the detection of the interstellar gas that flows directly into the solar system. This shows the first observation of interstellar hydrogen and oxygen gas. Credit: SwRI

IBEX ENA Flux on Heliosphere
[link to www.redorbit.com]

[snip]

Illustration of one of the possibilities for the bright ribbon of emission seen in the IBEX ENA maps. The galactic magnetic field shapes the heliosphere as it drapes over it. The ribbon appears to trace the area where the magnetic field is most parallel to the surface of the heliosphere (the heliopause).

Our shields are weakening....



Solar Cycle 23, Images and Measurements
[link to www.redorbit.com]

[snip]

Measurements from the ACE and Ulysses spacecraft show that the force exerted by solar wind is literally falling with time. The top figure shows how the Sun changes with time over the solar cycle. At solar minimum the Sun’s hot corona appears much darker and cooler than at solar maximum. The bottom panel shows sunspot number on the Sun, which also indicates how active the Sun is. The middle panel shows the falling force of the solar wind with time (from 1992 through 2010).