(ORDO NEWS) — In 2012, the Voyager-1 space probe left the solar system, entering interstellar space. Then he recorded that with distance the density of space increases. In 2018, exactly the same data was sent by the Voyager-2 probe, finally making it clear to scientists the veracity of the previously obtained information.
Voyager 2, in addition to confirming earlier findings, allowed scientists to conclude that the increase in density is a feature of the very local interstellar medium (VLIM).
The solar system has borders that carry different names. The spacecraft crossed the heliopause, the zone formed by the solar wind. The solar wind is a stream of ionized plasma that travels from the Sun in different directions. The extreme point of the heliopause is where the wind pressure tends to zero. The space behind the geoliopause is called VLIM, and in it the heliosphere.
In the solar system, the density of protons and electrons is 3-10 particles per cubic centimeter. This indicator decreases with distance from the star. In the interstellar medium, the density reaches 0.037 particles, and in the outer heliosphere – 0.002 particles per cubic meter. cm. The Voyager-2 probe was able to determine that outside the heliopause, it is 18 billion km from our planet, the density sharply amounted to 0.055 particles per cubic meter. see. With each test, the indicator increased. So, scientists received data up to 0.13 particles per cubic meter. cm.
The theory is that the reason for the increasing density lies in the lines of force of the interstellar magnetic field, which intensify with each overlap of the heliopause. As a result, an electromagnetic ion cyclotron instability arises, which attracts the plasma. According to another version, the reason is the deceleration of the material, which in the solar system is actively mixed by the interstellar wind. There is a kind of traffic jam outside the heliopause.
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