Data Confirm Voyager 1's Entry into Interstellar Space

摘要

New data collected by NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft have helped scientists confirm that the far-flung probe is indeed cruising through interstellar space, the researchers say. Voyager 1 made headlines around the world last year when mission scientists announced that the probe had apparently left the heliosphere - the huge bubble of charged particles and magnetic fields surrounding the sun - in August 2012. They came to this conclusion after analyzing measurements Voyager 1 made in the wake of a powerful solar eruption known as a coronal mass ejection, or CME. The shock wave from this CME caused the particles around Voyager 1 to vibrate substantially, allowing mission scientists to calculate the density of the probe's surroundings. This density was much higher than that observed in the outer layers of the heliosphere, allowing team members to conclude that Voyager 1 had entered a new cosmic realm.