A strong, highly-tilted interstellar magnetic field near the Solar System

M. Opher (), F. Alouani Bibi, G. Toth, J. D. Richardson, V. V. Izmodenov and T. I. Gombosi
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M. Opher: George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, Virginia 22030, USA
F. Alouani Bibi: George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, Virginia 22030, USA
G. Toth: Center for Space Environment Modeling, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
J. D. Richardson: Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 37-655, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
V. V. Izmodenov: Lomonosov Moscow State University, Space Research Institute (IKI) and Institute for Problems in Mechanics, Russian Academy of Science, 84/32 Profsoyuznaya Street, Moscow 117997, Russia
T. I. Gombosi: Center for Space Environment Modeling, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA

Nature, 2009, vol. 462, issue 7276, 1036-1038

Abstract: Voyager 2 in the field Voyager 2, now on the 'interstellar' leg of its mission, entered the heliosheath, the region just outside the Solar System beyond the solar wind termination shock, in August 2007. The strength and orientation of the magnetic fields here are important factors in determining the evolution of gas clouds in the Galaxy, and a new set of Voyager 2 data provides the first in situ measurements of the deflection of the subsonic solar wind plasma flows in the heliosheath. The field strength in the local interstellar medium is greater than previous estimates, at 3.7 to 5.5 microgauss. The field is tilted at 20–30° from the interstellar medium flow direction and is at an angle of about 30° from the Galactic plane.

Date: 2009
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DOI: 10.1038/nature08567

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