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Voyager 2 Shows Solar System Is "Dented"

Posted by kdawson on from the folded-spindled-mutilated dept.

Selikoff writes "NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft has found that our solar system is not round but is 'dented' by the local interstellar magnetic field, space experts said on Monday. The data were gathered by the craft on its 30-year journey when it crossed into a region called the 'termination shock.' The data showed that the southern hemisphere of the solar system's heliosphere is being pushed in. Voyager 2 is the second spacecraft to enter this region of the solar system, behind Voyager 1, which reached the northern region of the heliosheath in December 2004."

4 of 173 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Shape? by Chuck+Chunder · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It is human defined in a sense, however the humans in question aren't arbitrarily picking a point, they are basing the definition on a measurable physical property, ie the area where the Sun's magnetic field has a (dominating) effect.

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  2. Is this any better than conjecture? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    AFAICT, they have one data point on the surface of the 'sphere'. Using that one data point they decide that the sphere isn't spherical. If they had a hundred Voyagers all leaving the solar system in different directions at the same time, I would be more convinced.

  3. human defined? by someone1234 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Hmm? Is there anything known to us humans, that isn't human-defined?

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  4. Halp! by Fizzl · · Score: 4, Insightful

    southern hemisphere of the solar system's heliosphere

    Could someone remind me how to orientate myself in the universe?
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