Interstellar material

NASA's interstellar zone exploration program (IBEX) has obtained the best and most complete view ever of what is outside our solar system. The new measurement brought clues to how and where the solar system was formed , the physical forces that formed the shape of the Solar System, and the history of other stars in the Milky Way.

Spacecraft on Earth orbit observe four separate types of atoms; Hydrogen, oxygen, neon and helium. These interstellar atoms are the by-products of the older suns and scattered throughout the Milky Way, filling the vast interstellar spaces. The program to explore interstellar regions determines the distribution of these elements outside the solar system, they are neutral and carry floating charges, blowing through the Ngan Ha range, also known as interstellar winds.

Barbara Giles, from NASA headquarters in Washington, said: 'This is a small research program with a modest investment, but the scientific achievements are significant, justifying what will be achieved. be if we let domestic scientists be free to innovate ".

Scientists reported finding a ratio of 74 oxygen atoms on 20 neon atoms in the interstellar wind region. For the solar system, this ratio is 111 oxygen atoms on 20 neon atoms. Accordingly each part of the solar system contains more oxygen than the adjacent interstellar spaces.

'Our solar system is different from the outer space, leading to two possibilities; or is the solar system developing in the more oxygen-rich segregated part of the Milky Way compared to where we live, or a large amount of oxygen essential to life locked in ice particles and interstellar dust, can't freedom spills out into the outer space. ' David McComas from Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio said.

This new result holds a focal point for the history of matter in the universe. While the Big Bang initially created hydrogen and helium, only supernova explosions at the end of the life of a new star could spread heavier elements, oxygen and neon. Galaxy. Understanding the number of elements in space can help scientists shape how our galaxy grows and changes over time.

Scientists want to understand the composition of the boundary between the heliosphere and the adjacent regions, called the inter-interstellar environment. The heliosphere acts as a protective bubble to shield the Solar System from the galaxy's dangerous cosmic radiation from interstellar space towards the solar system.

The program to explore interstellar regions measuring interstellar winds blows from another direction and at a lower velocity than the previously measured Ulysses spacecraft. Improved measurements of the Program show that interstellar wind pressure is different from the previous diaries by 20%.

'Measuring the pressure exerted on the heliosphere from matter in the galaxy and the external magnetic fields will help to determine the size and shape of the solar system when moving in the Milky Way series.' From Goddard space center NASA's Greenbelt, Maryland, Eric Christian share.

The spacecraft of the Interstellar Discovery Program was launched in November 2008. The scientific goal is to explore the nature of the interaction between the solar wind and the interstellar region environment at the solar system edge.