Voyager 2 Explorer: Discovery of the Curved Solar System

On December 10, scientists announced that the new observation of Voyager 2 discovered that the solar system is asymmetrical, possibly interfering in the interstellar magnetic field.

The discovery came after the 30-year-old unmanned spacecraft approached the solar system's border last summer following Voyager 1's voyage to that area in 2004.

According to California Institute of Technology scientist Edward Stone, scientists have long suspected a curved solar system but have not had direct evidence before to prove it.

Last August, Voyager 2 crossed the boundary of the solar system, known as the Termination Shock, about 10 billion miles from the area that Voyager 1 had passed on December 16, 2004. mile.

The shock termination is an area that surrounds the solar system but has not yet determined the exact location due to changes in the characteristics of the solar wind. This is where the solar wind is mixed between gas and dust. The charged particles collided with each other and suddenly decelerated.

The Voyager 2 had crossed the Termination Shock area five times and determined the distance from the southern hemisphere's boundary to the sun near the northern hemisphere's boundary that Voyager 1 had passed about 1 billion miles . Scientists believe that this unevenness is caused by the interstellar magnetic field being cornered into the galaxy. This magnetic field is also interfering with another spherical surface. Stone said.

Voyager 2 has crossed the limits of the Termination Shock.- (Photo: NASA)

Although Voyager 2 was the second expedition ship to cross the Termination Shock boundary, scientists were still happy to see it as an important milestone. Compared to Voyager 1, Voyager 2 is equipped with a device that for the first time measures the speed and temperature of the solar wind.

The Voyager 1 and 2 ships were launched into space in 1977 to make an extraordinary expedition outside the Solar System, passing through gas planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune). and is entering Helioshealth, the farthest region of the Solar System, between the Termination Shock zone and Hiliopause, where the Solar System's influence fades.

Voyager 1 is the most space-emitted device from humans, with a speed of 10 miles per second, along with the Voyager 2 twin brother who is on a mission to explore unknown boundaries. between the Solar System and the interstellar space.

It took about a decade for these unmanned explorer ships to reach the Heliopause (the last point of the Solar System), marking the beginning of the interstellar space and ending the Solar System. .

These two ships are powered by nuclear power. According to calculations, from now to 2020, the generators using plutonium radioisotopes of the two ships will be weak and the two vessels will be permanently disconnected.

Hong Bud
According to AP, synthesize foreign news, Vietnamnet