Voyager Exits Solar System: Shockwave-ish Lines Explained

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In summary, the image of the heliosphere depicts the Voyager spacecraft exiting the solar system and shows three boundaries: the bow shock, the heliopause, and the termination shock. The shockwave-ish lines represent the bow shock, which is caused by the Sun rotating around the Galaxy and is similar to the shape of waves around a boat in a lake or a plane traveling at supersonic speeds. Voyager 1 is expected to cross the termination shock soon, and it is uncertain what kind of environment it will encounter there.
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Pengwuino
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Someone posted this in another forum...

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0206/heliosphere_pc_big.jpg

Its suppose to depict the voyager spacecraft exiting the solar system but i was wondering... what are those shockwave-ish lines suppose to represent? I mean there's nothing out there... so why would it make anything like what is depicted in that picture?

Kinda looks like capsules on re-entry to earth...
 
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  • #2
Pengwuino said:
Someone posted this in another forum...

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0206/heliosphere_pc_big.jpg

Its suppose to depict the voyager spacecraft exiting the solar system but i was wondering... what are those shockwave-ish lines suppose to represent? I mean there's nothing out there... so why would it make anything like what is depicted in that picture?

Kinda looks like capsules on re-entry to earth...

artistic licence, showing motion

or passing thru helio pause perhaps?
 
  • #3
There're 3 boundaries depicted in your pic. The most exterior of them is called the bow shock. The 2nd boundary is the heliopause, that is the wrapping of what is called the heliosphere. The third boundary, represented barely by a circle in the image is the termination shock, and the Sun and the planets lie inside it. The zone between the heliopause and the termination shock is called the heliosheath. The bow shock seems to be like the surroundings of "a capsule on re-entry the earth" because the Sun is rotating around the Galaxy, so think of a boat sailing through a lake and the shape of the waves around it, and then you will comprehend the shape of the bow shock. Another example that can be useful is a plane traveling at supersonic speeds: it also produces a bow shock in the air in front of the plane. Voyager 1 is supposed to have crossed recently the termination shock, or being in the verge of doing it
 
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1. What is the "Voyager Exits Solar System: Shockwave-ish Lines" phenomenon?

The "Voyager Exits Solar System: Shockwave-ish Lines" phenomenon refers to the observation of a series of bright, vertical lines in Voyager 1's data as it exited the solar system in 2012. These lines were interpreted as a shockwave caused by the spacecraft passing through the boundary between the solar system and interstellar space.

2. What caused the shockwave-ish lines?

The shockwave-ish lines were caused by a sudden increase in the density of charged particles, known as the heliopause, which marks the boundary between the solar system and interstellar space. As Voyager 1 crossed this boundary, it encountered a higher concentration of these particles, resulting in the observed shockwave-ish lines.

3. How long did it take for Voyager 1 to reach the shockwave-ish lines?

Voyager 1 took approximately 35 years to reach the shockwave-ish lines after its launch in 1977. It crossed the heliopause on August 25, 2012, at a distance of about 121 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun.

4. Are the shockwave-ish lines a common occurrence in space?

The shockwave-ish lines observed by Voyager 1 are not a common occurrence in space. This was a unique event as it marked the first time a man-made object had crossed the heliopause and entered interstellar space.

5. What did the discovery of the shockwave-ish lines tell us about the solar system?

The discovery of the shockwave-ish lines provided valuable insight into the structure of the solar system and its boundaries. It confirmed the existence of the heliopause and the approximate distance at which it is located, as well as furthering our understanding of the interaction between the solar wind and interstellar medium.

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