'Impressionist' Spacecraft to View Solar System's Invisible Frontier

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Artists impression of IBEX exploring the edge of our solar system. Credit: NASA GSFC
Artist's impression of IBEX exploring the edge of our solar system. Credit: NASA GSFC

(PhysOrg.com) -- At the edge of our solar system in December 2004, the Voyager 1 spacecraft encountered something never before experienced during its then 26-year cruise through the solar system — an invisible shock formed as the solar wind piles up against the gas in interstellar space. This boundary, called the termination shock, marks the beginning of our solar system's final frontier, a vast expanse of turbulent gas and twisting magnetic fields.


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All News summaries for July 25, 2008