Journal article
In Situ Observations of Interstellar Plasma with Voyager 1
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science), Vol.341(6153), pp.1489-1492
09/27/2013
DOI: 10.1126/science.1241681
PMID: 24030496
Abstract
Launched over 35 years ago, Voyagers 1 and 2 are on an epic journey outward from the Sun to reach the boundary between the solar plasma and the much cooler interstellar medium. The boundary, called the heliopause, is expected to be marked by a large increase in plasma density, from about 0.002 per cubic centimeter (cm(-3)) in the outer heliosphere, to about 0.1 cm(-3) in the interstellar medium. On 9 April 2013, the Voyager 1 plasma wave instrument began detecting locally generated electron plasma oscillations at a frequency of about 2.6 kilohertz. This oscillation frequency corresponds to an electron density of about 0.08 cm(-3), very close to the value expected in the interstellar medium. These and other observations provide strong evidence that Voyager 1 has crossed the heliopause into the nearby interstellar plasma.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- In Situ Observations of Interstellar Plasma with Voyager 1
- Creators
- D. A. Gurnett - University of IowaW. S. Kurth - University of IowaL. F. Burlaga - Goddard Space Flight CenterN. F. Ness - Catholic University of America
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science), Vol.341(6153), pp.1489-1492
- DOI
- 10.1126/science.1241681
- PMID
- 24030496
- NLM abbreviation
- Science
- ISSN
- 0036-8075
- eISSN
- 1095-9203
- Publisher
- Amer Assoc Advancement Science
- Number of pages
- 4
- Grant note
- JPL 1415150; NNG11PM48P; NNX12AC63G / NASA; National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 09/27/2013
- Academic Unit
- Physics and Astronomy
- Record Identifier
- 9984455269002771
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