Godlike Productions - News: Sun's heliosphere has a different shape than theorists had expected.

01:22 AM

News

Monday, November 23, 2009

Breaking News Back

Sun's heliosphere has a different shape than theorists had expected.

MIT News

2009-10-17

The sun's environment in interstellar space — the heliosphere — is essentially a bubble that encompasses the entire solar system and has a diameter about 100 times the distance from the Earth to the sun. This region, in which the solar wind dominates before it smashes into the surrounding galactic gas and dust, was supposed to look something like the shape of a comet: a region pushed inward on one side and streaming outward on the other. But a new NASA orbiting observatory designed to study this vast zone found something completely different.

Our sun's sphere of influence, according to a series of papers published in Science on Oct. 16 detailing the initial results from the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) satellite, seems instead to be a bubble that is cinched at the waist by a vast ribbon as seen by energetic neutral atoms — atoms that are not electrically charged, but are moving very fast through space — that are glowing 10 times more brightly than anyone had expected from anything in this region called the heliosphere. The textbook descriptions of the heliosphere, according to Science's accompanying news story, will have to be entirely rewritten.

IBEX is a project run by the Southwest Research Institute that involves dozens of researchers from several institutions around the country, including three from MIT who are co-authors of the group of Science papers: Peter Ford, a principal research scientist at the Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, and Kavli research scientists Roland Vanderspek and Geoffrey Crew.

IBEX, launched a year ago into a high elliptical orbit that takes it out almost as far as the moon, has completed its first six months of observations — enough to give a first view of the entire sky. It captures energetic particles coming from the boundary between the sun's region of influence and the interstellar space beyond. Previously, the only direct evidence about this giant bubble came from the two Voyager spacecraft, which reached the inner edge of this boundary zone about two years ago and provided in-situ glimpses of two particular points on that shell.

IBEX provides "the first all-sky view of this region, and no one was expecting what we've seen," Crew says. Oddly enough, the energetic ribbon that circles the whole sky doesn't seem to follow the ecliptic (the plane in which all of the planets orbit). Nor does it follow the plane of the galaxy we inhabit, the Milky Way. "Who ordered this?" Crew exclaims. "It doesn't line up with anything!"

What does the discrepancy mean? It will take theorists some time to figure that out, since the observations were so different from anything predicted by existing theories or models. "Theories are flying," Crew says. One suggestion is that the ribbon of energetic neutral atoms may have to do with the effect of the local galactic magnetic field pushing against the heliosphere. These observations suggest that the ribbon is perpendicular to that magnetic field, he says.

IBEX is expected to remain in operation for at least two more years, and it could potentially keep going for a decade or more if funding is provided, which would be helpful in order to see whether the heliosphere varies over the course of the 11-year solar cycle. "There's a lot to look at in the future to try to understand this," Crew says. "There will be a wealth of new information to constrain the models."

Email Article

Discuss in the Forum

Back

Disclaimer:
This website exists for entertainment purposes only. The reader is responsible for discerning the validity, factuality or implications of information posted here, be it fictional or based on real events. Moderators on this forum make every effort to review the material posted on this site however, it is not realistically possible for our small staff to manually review each and every one of the more than 10,000 posts GodlikeProductions gets on a daily basis.

The content of post on this site, including but not limited to links to other web sites, are the expressed opinion of the original poster and are in no way representative of or endorsed by the owners or administration of this website. The posts on this website are the opinion of the specific author and are not statements of advice, opinion, or factual information on behalf of the owner or administration of GodlikeProductions. This site may contain adult content and if you feel you might be offended by such content, you should log off immediately.

Not all posts on this website are intended as truthful or factual assertion by their authors. Some users of this website are participating in internet role playing, with or without the use of an avatar. NO post on this website should be considered factual information on face value alone. Users are encouraged to USE DISCERNMENT and do their own follow up research while reading and posting on this website. Godlikeproductions.com reserves the right to make changes to, corrections and/or remove entirely at any time posts made on this website without notice. In addition, Godlikeproductions.com disclaims any and all liability for damages incurred directly or indirectly as a result of a post on this website.

This site is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. You should not assume that this site is error-free or that it will be suitable for the particular purpose which you have in mind when using it. In no event shall Godlikeproductions.com be liable for any special, incidental, indirect or consequential damages of any kind, or any damages whatsoever, including, without limitation, those resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether or not advised of the possibility of damage, and on any theory of liability, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of this site or other documents which are referenced by or linked to this site.

Some events depicted in certain posting and threads on this website may be fictitious and any similarity to any person living or dead is merely coincidental. Some other articles may be based on actual events but which in certain cases incidents, characters and timelines have been changed for dramatic purposes. Certain characters may be composites, or entirely fictitious.

We do not discriminate against the mentally ill!

Fair Use Notice:
This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Users may make such material available in an effort to advance awareness and understanding of issues relating to civil rights, economics, individual rights, international affairs, liberty, science & technology, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C.Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
For more information please visit:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml

Please be aware any communications sent complaining about a post on this website may be posted publicly at the discretion of the administration.

This Disclaimer is subject to change at anytime.

Mail Webmaster with questions or comments about this site.

Privacy Policy - Terms Of Use

Copyright 1999-2009 © GodLikeProductions.com

Page generated in 0.001s (1 queries)