php require("/home/jeffery/public_html/astro/sun/heliopause.html");?>
Caption:
"The heliopause
is the boundary at ∼ 120 AU from the Sun
between the
heliosphere
(i.e., the solar magnetosphere and
stellar-wind bubble (AKA astrophere))
and the interstellar medium (ISM)
adjacent to the Solar System.
As the solar wind approaches the
heliopause,
it slows suddenly, forming a
shock wave called the
termination shock of the
solar wind."
(Slightly edited.)
The termination shock is an
inward-going shock wave from
the heliopause.
There is also an outward-going shock wave:
a bow shock formed as the
heliosphere plows through the
adjacent ISM.
Features:
- At the heliopause,
the solar wind merges with the
interstellar medium
in a complicated way.
- The Voyager Program probes (1977--2030s)
launched in 1977
reached the vicinity of the
heliopause
at of order 120 AU from the Sun
in the 2010s.
To be exact,
Voyager 1 (1977--2030s)
crossed the heliopause
2012
Aug25
at 121 AU from the Sun
(see
Wikipedia: Heliosphere: Heliopause;
Wikipedia: Voyager 1: Heliopause).
Voyager 2 (1977--2030s)
crossed the heliopause
2018
Nov05
at 119 AU from the Sun
(see
Wikipedia: Heliosphere: Heliopause;
Wikipedia:
Voyager 2: Interstellar mission).
- More
in situ
information from the
Voyager Program probes (1977--2030s)
and other information will further elucidate
the heliopause
and surroundings.
It's likely to be a rather complicated story, and so we will NOT go into it further.
- Note that the heliopause
is NOT the edge of the
Solar System
in yours truly's opinion since
astronomical objects
gravitationally bound
to the Sun include the
Oort cloud which extends outward
to somewhere between 3,000 and 200,000 AU (0.03--3.2 ly, 0.01--1 Mpc)
(see Wikipedia: Oort cloud).
Credit/Permission: NASA,
before or circa 2005
(uploaded to Wikipedia
by Robert Horning (AKA User:RHoning),
2005) /
Public domain.
Image link: Wikipedia:
File:Heliopause diagram.png.
Local file: local link: heliopause.html.
File: Sun file:
heliopause.html.