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Sept.
21, 2006: Almost every day, the great antennas of
NASA's Deep Space Network turn to a blank patch of sky in
the constellation Ophiuchus. Pointing at nothing, or so it
seems, they invariably pick up a signal, faint but full of
intelligence. The source is beyond Neptune, beyond Pluto,
on the verge of the stars themselves.
 It's
Voyager 1. The spacecraft left Earth in 1977 on a mission
to visit Jupiter and Saturn. Almost 30 years later, with the
gas giants long ago seen and done, Voyager 1 is still going
and encountering some strange things.
Right:
An artist's concept of Voyager 1. [More]
"We've
entered a totally new region of space," says Ed Stone,
Voyager project scientist and the former director of JPL.
"And the spacecraft is beaming back surprising new information."
Before
we reveal the surprises, let us discuss exactly where Voyager
1 is:
Our entire solar system—planets and all—sits inside a gargantuan
bubble of gas about four times wider than the orbit of Neptune.
The sun is responsible. It blows the bubble by means of the
solar wind. Astronomers call the bubble itself "the heliosphere"
and its outer membrane "the heliosheath." [diagram]
Voyager
1 is about 10 billion miles from Earth, inside the heliosheath.
 "You
can simulate the heliosheath in your kitchen sink," says
Stone. "Turn on the faucet so that a thin stream of water
pours into the sink. Look down into the basin. Where the stream
hits bottom, that's the sun. From there, water flows outward
in a thin, perfectly radial sheet. That's the solar wind.
As the water (or solar wind) expands, it gets thinner and
thinner, and it can't push as hard. Abruptly, a sluggish,
turbulent ring forms. That ring is the heliosheath."
Right:
A simulated heliosheath in your kitchen sink. Image credit:
Tony Phillips.
"The
heliosheath is important to humans," continues Stone.
"It helps protect us from galactic cosmic rays."
Galactic cosmic rays are subatomic particles accelerated to
nearly light speed by supernovas and black holes. Astronauts
out in space are exposed to the particles—and that's not a
good thing. Cosmic rays can penetrate flesh and damage DNA.
Fortunately, the heliosheath deflects many cosmic rays before
they ever reach the inner solar system. "Magnetic turbulence
in the heliosheath scatters the particles harmlessly away."
Note:
We have many shields against cosmic rays from the thin walls
of spaceships to massive planetary atmospheres. But the heliosheath
is our first line of defense, and that makes it special.
Because
of its role as Solar System Protector, "we need to learn
as much as we can about the heliosheath," says Stone.
"Voyager 1 is giving us our first look inside."
And
now for the surprises:
Magnetic
Potholes: Every now and then, Voyager 1 sails through
a "magnetic pothole" where the magnetic field of the
heliosheath almost vanishes, dropping from a typical value of
0.1 nanoTesla (nT) to 0.01 nT or less. There are also "magnetic
speed bumps" where the field strength jumps to twice normal,
from 0.1 nT to 0.2 nT. These speed bumps and potholes are an
unexpected form of turbulence. What role do they play in scattering
cosmic rays? "This is under investigation," says Stone.
Sluggish
solar wind: The solar wind in the heliosheath is
slower than anyone expected. "The solar wind is supposed
to slow down out there, just as the water in your sink slowed
down to make the 'sluggish ring,'" says Stone, "but
not this slow." Before Voyager 1 arrived, computer models
predicted a wind speed of 200,000 to 300,000 mph. Voyager
1 measured only about 34,000 mph. "This means our computer
models need to be refined."
Anomalous
Cosmic Rays: "This one takes a little explaining,"
he says. "While the heliosheath protects us from deep-space
cosmic rays, at the same time it is busy producing some cosmic
rays of its own. A shock wave at the inner boundary of the
heliosheath imparts energy to subatomic particles which zip,
cosmic-ray-like, into the inner solar system. "We call
them 'anomalous cosmic rays.' They're not as dangerous as
galactic cosmic rays because they are not so energetic."
 Right:
A schematic diagram of the sun's heliosphere. Anomalous cosmic
rays are supposed to come from the Termination Shock--but
Voyager 1 found otherwise. [More]
Researchers
expected Voyager 1 to encounter the greatest number of anomalous
cosmic rays at the inner boundary of the heliosheath "because
that's where we thought anomalous cosmic rays were produced."
Surprise: Voyager crossed the boundary in December 2004 and
there was no spike in cosmic rays. Only now, 300+ million
miles later, is the intensity beginning to grow.
"This
is really puzzling," says Stone. "Where are
these anomalous cosmic rays coming from?"
Voyager
1 may find the source--and who knows what else?--as it continues
its journey. The heliosheath is 3 to 4 billion miles in thickness,
and Voyager 1 will be inside it for another 10 years or so.
That's a lot of new territory to explore and plenty of time
for more surprises.
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Author: Dr. Tony
Phillips | Editor:
Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA
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