NASA | Voyager Finds Magnetic Bubbles at Solar System's Edge

The video explores the outer edge of the solar system, focusing on the heliosphere and its boundary marked by the termination shock. It discusses the dynamics of the sun's magnetic field and the formation of bubbles in the heliosheath, as discovered by the Voyager spacecraft. These findings have altered our understanding of cosmic rays and their movement through the solar system. The video also highlights the differences in data collected by Voyager 1 and 2, and the ongoing mysteries about the heliosheath's interaction with interstellar space.

What marks the boundary of the heliosphere?

• The orbit of Pluto

• The outer reaches of the sun's magnetic field and solar wind

• The asteroid belt

• The sun's gravitational pull

What happens to the solar wind at the termination shock?

• It speeds up

• It changes direction

• It disappears

• It slows down abruptly

What did the Voyager spacecraft discover about the heliosheath?

• It is a solid barrier

• It is unaffected by cosmic rays

• It contains bubbles formed by stacked magnetic field ripples

• It is a smooth, streamlined region

How do cosmic rays enter the solar system according to the new understanding?

• They travel directly to the sun

• They move from bubble to bubble until reaching smooth magnetic field lines

• They are absorbed by the heliosphere

• They are deflected back into space

What is one of the ongoing questions about the heliosheath?

• Why it emits no energetic particles

• How it affects the orbit of Earth

• Why it is completely smooth

• How it is linked to the ribbon feature discovered by IBEX and Cassini