NASA | IBEX Provides First View of the Solar System's Tail

NASA's IBEX has mapped the solar system's Helio Tail using energetic neutral atom imaging. The tail, composed of solar wind, plasma, and magnetic fields, forms a four-leaf clover shape due to varying particle speeds. This shape is slightly rotated, indicating alignment with the local galaxy's magnetic field. The tail's length is unknown, but it likely fades into interstellar space. Ongoing research aims to enhance our understanding of these comet-like tails.

Explain how the charged particles in the Helio Tail are influenced by the local Galaxy's magnetic field.

What is still unknown about the Helio Tail according to scientists?