Published 13:26 IST, November 5th 2019
Voyager 2 enters the interstellar space after 42 years: NASA
NASA launched Voyager 2 probe has sent back signals from the periphery of solar systems which the scientists believe that it has entered the interstellar space.
NASA launched a probe that blasted off from Earth on August 20, 1977, which has become only the second man-made object to leave the solar system. The Voyager 2 probe has sent back signals from the periphery of solar systems which the scientists believe that it has entered the interstellar space. The probe was launched from earth 16 days before its twin spacecraft, Voyager 1 but entered the interstellar space more than six years after Voyager 1 because of its slower trajectory.
The spacecraft's journey had a definitive jump: Scientists
It crossed the outer edge of the Sun's protective layer known as the heliopause on November 5, 2018. It left the earth's orbit in 1977 and took seven years longer to reach the outer limit of the heliosphere some 18 billion kilometres away. The heliosphere is made up of the Sun's magnetic field and solar winds that can reach speeds up to three million kilometres per hour.
A professor at the California Institute of Technology, Edward Stone said that it can be compared to a cosmic supertanker hovering over the space. The scientists have confirmed that the spacecraft's journey into space had a definitive jump in the density of plasma which is made up of charged particles and gas in the interstellar space. According to the scientists, the leap was detected by one of the instruments installed in the Voyager 2 and made its own path "from the hot, lower-density plasma to the cool, higher density plasma of interstellar space.
The probes give important clues about the heliosphere
The researchers added that it is very similar to the plasma density jump experienced by Voyager 1 when it crossed the interstellar space. The astronomers are looking to explore how the solar winds charge particles liberating out of the Sun and interact with the interstellar winds made up of particles from other stars. Stone said that they are trying to understand the nature of the surroundings where these two winds collide. The astronomer believes that the probes give important clues about the details and structure of the heliosphere. The researchers suggest that the interstellar medium near the heliopause is generally hotter with a temperature of around 30,000-50,000K. In a study, a group of researchers claimed the presence of layers on both sides of the heliopause. The presence of the outer layer came to light after Voyager 2 crossed the interstellar space.
(With inputs from agencies)
Updated 14:32 IST, November 5th 2019