geologia: Extraterrestrial life

Evidence: 42 • authority: 92

Shocks in the Very Local Interstellar Medium.. Large-scale disturbances generated by the Sun's dynamics first propagate through the heliosphere, influence the heliosphere's outer boundaries, and then traverse and modify the very local interstellar medium (VLISM). The existence of shocks in the VLISM was initially suggested by Voyager observations of the 2-3 kHz radio emissions in the heliosphere. A couple of decades later, both Voyagers crossed the definitive edge of our heliosphere and became the first ever spacecraft to sample interstellar space. Since Voyager 1's entrance into the VLISM, it sampled electron plasma oscillation events that indirectly measure the medium's density, increasin…

Evidence: 66 • authority: 72

The Voyager program is an American scientific program that employs two interstellar probes, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. They were launched in 1977 to take advantage of a favorable planetary alignment to explore the two gas giants Jupiter and Saturn and potentially also the ice giants, Uranus and Neptune—to fly near them while collecting data for transmission back to Earth. After Voyager 1 successfully completed its flyby of Saturn and its moon Titan, it was decided that Voyager 2 would continue on its pre-planned trajectory to fly by Uranus and Neptune. After the planetary flybys were complete, decisions were made to keep the probes in operation to explore interstellar space and the outer regi…

Evidence: 58 • authority: 72

Voyager 2 is a space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, as a part of the Voyager program. It was launched on a trajectory towards the gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn) and enabled further encounters with the ice giants (Uranus and Neptune). The only spacecraft to have visited either of the ice giant planets, it was the third of five spacecraft to achieve Solar escape velocity, which allowed it to leave the Solar System. Launched 16 days before its twin Voyager 1, the primary mission of the spacecraft was to study the outer planets and its extended mission is to study interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere. Voyager 2 successfully fulfilled its primary mission of visiting the J…

Evidence: 50 • authority: 72

Voyager 1 is a space probe launched by NASA on September 5, 1977, as part of the Voyager program, to study the outer Solar System and the interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere. It was launched 16 days after its twin, Voyager 2. It communicates through the NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) to receive routine commands and to transmit data to Earth. Real-time distance and velocity data are provided by NASA and JPL. At a distance of 172.52 AU (25.8 billion km; 16.0 billion mi) as of October 2026, it is the most distant human-made object from Earth. Voyager 1 is projected to reach a distance of one light day from Earth on November 18, 2026. The probe made flybys of Jupiter, Saturn, and Sat…

Evidence: 42 • authority: 92

Direct Samples of Interstellar and Interplanetary Material with IMAP.. The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration (IMAP) mission probes the interaction between our heliosphere and the interstellar medium (ISM) in unprecedented detail. The broad science that IMAP addresses has been organized into three distinct science themes: A) Acceleration and the broader context of the solar wind and space weather; B) Exploring the outer heliosphere through energetic neutral atoms, and C) Sampling of the interstellar and interplanetary material. This paper summarizes the scientific goals of the latter theme and identifies the key scientific opportunities for IMAP available due to its unique ability to dir…

Evidence: 24 • authority: 92

Future Exploration of the Outer Heliosphere and Very Local Interstellar Medium by Interstellar Probe.. A detailed overview of the knowledge gaps in our understanding of the heliospheric interaction with the largely unexplored Very Local Interstellar Medium (VLISM) are provided along with predictions of with the scientific discoveries that await. The new measurements required to make progress in this expanding frontier of space physics are discussed and include in-situ plasma and pick-up ion measurements throughout the heliosheath, direct sampling of the VLISM properties such as elemental and isotopic composition, densities, flows, and temperatures of neutral gas, dust and plasma, and remote…

Evidence: 24 • authority: 72

The heliosphere is the magnetosphere, astrosphere, and outermost atmospheric layer of the Sun. It takes the shape of a vast, tailed bubble-like region of space. In plasma physics terms, it is the cavity formed by the Sun in the surrounding interstellar medium. The "bubble" of the heliosphere is continuously "inflated" by plasma originating from the Sun, known as the solar wind. Outside the heliosphere, this solar plasma gives way to the interstellar plasma permeating the Milky Way. As part of the interplanetary magnetic field, the heliosphere shields the Solar System from significant amounts of cosmic ionizing radiation; uncharged gamma rays are, however, not affected. Its name was likely c…

Evidence: 24 • authority: 80

Voyager observations of the interaction of the heliosphere with the interstellar medium

Evidence: 24 • authority: 80

13th Annual International Astrophysics Conference: Voyager, IBEX, and the Interstellar Medium

Evidence: 24 • authority: 80

Voyager observations in the outer heliosphere and interstellar medium

Evidence: 24 • authority: 80

Voyager probe detects signal that allows continuous measurement of interstellar medium

Evidence: — • authority: 65