Zero outward flow velocity for plasma in a heliosheath transition layer

Stamatios M. Krimigis (), Edmond C. Roelof, Robert B. Decker and Matthew E. Hill
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Stamatios M. Krimigis: Applied Physics Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University
Edmond C. Roelof: Applied Physics Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University
Robert B. Decker: Applied Physics Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University
Matthew E. Hill: Applied Physics Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University

Nature, 2011, vol. 474, issue 7351, 359-361

Abstract: Voyager 1's long goodbye In December 2004, the Voyager 1 spacecraft began to leave the Solar System, crossing the solar wind termination shock and entering the heliosheath, a region where the solar wind (a stream of ionized particles) slows down as it begins to interact with the interstellar medium. The Voyager instruments are still monitoring the bulk velocity of the heliosheath plasma, and the latest news is that plasma velocity has been decreasing almost linearly during the past three years from 70 kilometres per second to close to zero, where it has remained for the past 8 months. This means that Voyager 1 may be close to the heliopause, where what remains of the solar wind matches the pressure exerted by interstellar space. Theorists had predicted a sharp discontinuity at the heliopause, so the gradual nature of Voyager's Solar System exit comes as something of a surprise.

Date: 2011
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DOI: 10.1038/nature10115

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