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That's our sun in the middle of a cloud termed "The Fluff" by NASA. It can generate an electromagnetic field 5 to 10 times higher than normal field output here on earth. Moreover, the energy being created in this field can dominate the electrical field around our planet.


LETTERS: A strong, highly-tilted interstellar magnetic field near the Solar System

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M. Opher1, F. Alouani Bibi1, G. Toth2, J. D. Richardson3, V. V. Izmodenov4& T. I. Gombosi2

Magnetic fields play an important (sometimes dominant) role in

the evolution of gas clouds in the Galaxy, but the strength and

orientation of the field in the interstellar medium near the helio-

sphere has been poorly constrained. Previous estimates of the field

strength range from 1.8–2.5 mG and the field was thought to be

parallel to the Galactic plane1

or inclined by 38–606(ref.2) or 60–906

(ref. 3) to this plane. These estimates relied either on indirect obser-

vational inferences or modelling in which the interstellar neutral

hydrogen was not taken into account. Here we report measurements

of the deflection of the solar wind plasma flows in the heliosheath4

to

determine the magnetic field strength and orientation in the inter-

stellar medium. We find that the field strength in the local interstel-

lar medium is 3.7–5.5mG. The field is tilted 20–306 from the

interstellar medium flow direction (resulting from the peculiar

motion of the Sun in the Galaxy) and is at an angle of about 306 from

the Galactic plane. We conclude that the interstellar medium field is

turbulent or has a distortion in the solar vicinity.

The local interstellar medium magnetic field (BISM) is one of the

key elements that control the interaction between the Solar System

and the interstellar medium. Determining its strength and orienta-

tion is crucial because BISM affects the shape of the Solar System and

the filtration of particles that stream into the Solar System from the

interstellar medium. However, until the Voyager spacecraft crosses

the heliopause, we cannot directly measure the orientation or

strength of BISM.

Previous work estimated the orientation and intensity of BISM, but

with large uncertainties. Measurements of the polarization of light

from nearby stars1

suggest that the average field over spatial scales of

parsecs is parallel to the Galactic disk, but gives no information on the

local field direction. The backscattered solar Lyman-a radiation2

gave

a field direction inclined 38–60u with respect to the Galactic plane

with the angle between the velocity of the interstellar medium and

magnetic field assumed to be 30–60u. This method relies on the

assumption that BISM is in a plane defined by the interstellar H and

He flow directions as they penetrate the Solar System. However,

recent studies have shown that this assumption may not be valid5

.

The deflection of the H from the He flow direction is affected both by

the orientation and by the strength of BISM. The same observed

average deflection can be produced by different orientations and

intensities of BISM.