Scientists have managed to do something that wasn’t done before. It has been announced that they have mapped out the boundary of the heliosphere for the first time. The heliosphere is a protective bubble that is created by solar wind. This bubble carries a stream of protons, electrons, and alpha particles.
The heliosphere extends from the Sun into interstellar space and protects our planet as well as our solar system from lethal interstellar radiation. By mapping its boundary, astronomers will be able to understand how solar and interstellar winds interact.
IBEX satellite helped create a 3D map
Researcher Dan Reisenfeld from the loss of Alamos National Laboratory has led the research. He notes that physics models have theorized about this boundary for years. However, this is the first time astronomers have measured it and built a 3D map of the heliosphere.
The team of researchers used data extracted from NASA’s Earth-orbiting Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) satellite that hunts for particles derived from the heliosheath, the boundary layer between the solar system and interstellar space. The team mapped the edge of that zone called the heliopause.
In that zone, the solar wind that is being pushed into interstellar space collides with the interstellar wind that pushes towards the sun. To measure the boundary, the team used a technique that is similar to how bats use sonar. Scientists use the sun’s solar wind, which moves in all directions, to map out the heliosphere.
Time difference helped determine distance
IBEX satellite measurements of the energetic neutral atoms that are formed when solar wind and interstellar wind particles collide were used. The team on the project notes that the intensity of that signal relies on how intense the solar wind is while striking the heliosheath.
Reisenfeld says that the solar wind “signal” emanating from the sun forms a unique pattern and also varies in strength. IBEX is capable of detecting and returning that signal; however, it takes around 2-6 years to receive and return the signal.
The time difference helped researchers determine the distance to the energetic neutral atoms source region in any direction. The data helped create a 3D map using data extracted over a complete solar cycle spanning 2009 through 2019.
