heliosphere – Astronomy Now

Proposed Interstellar Probe gains momentum with Johns Hopkins study

28 April 2021 Astronomy Now

Engineers are testing prototype heat shields for a proposed interstellar probe that first would fly close by the Sun for a gravitational slingshot into deep space.

Voyager 2 data sheds more light on boundary of interstellar space

5 November 2019 Astronomy Now

Data from the Voyager 2 probe is helping scientists gain a better understanding of the interstellar environment just outside the Sun’s influence.

Voyager 2 crosses solar boundary, moves into interstellar space

10 December 2018 Astronomy Now

NASA’s long-lived Voyager 2 probe, still sending back data 41 years after launch in 1977, has finally moved into interstellar space, joining Voyager 1 in the void between the stars.

Are we there yet? Voyager 2 nears the boundary of interstellar space

5 October 2018 Astronomy Now

Six years after the Voyager 1 spacecraft moved into interstellar space, Voyager 2 is detecting an increase in cosmic ray strikes indicating the probe is nearing the edge of the protective bubble defined by the Sun’s influence.

NASA’s IBEX observations pin down interstellar magnetic field

28 February 2016 Astronomy Now

Immediately after its 2008 launch, NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, spotted a curiosity in a thin slice of space: More particles streamed in through a long, skinny swath in the sky than anywhere else. The origin of the so-called IBEX ribbon was unknown — but its very existence opened doors to observing what lies outside our solar system.