Voyager 1 Finds Unexpected Wrinkles At the Edge Of the Solar System 164
Voyager 1 has been close to the boundary of the solar system for quite a while; we've mentioned that the edge is near a few times before, including an evidently premature report in 2010 that Voyager had reached a distance so far from the sun that it could no longer detect solar winds and another in 2011 that it had reached an "outer shell" of solar influence. It turns out that the boundaries of the solar system are fuzzier than once anticipated; the L.A. Times is reporting that "Toward the end of July 2012, Voyager 1's instruments reported that solar winds had suddenly dropped by half, while the strength of the magnetic field almost doubled, according to the studies. Those values then switched back and forth five times before they became fixed on Aug. 25. Since then, solar winds have all but disappeared, but the direction of the magnetic field has barely budged." Also at Wired, which notes "That's hard to explain because the galaxy's magnetic field is thought to be inclined 60 degrees from the sun's field. No one is entirely sure what's going on. ... [It's] almost as if Voyager thought it was going outside but instead found itself standing in the foyer of the sun's home with an open door that allows wind to blow in from the galaxy."
Re: It aint done left this galaxy yet ? (Score:5, Informative)
Re: It aint done left this galaxy yet ? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:XKCD (Score:5, Informative)
http://science.slashdot.org/story/13/06/30/1318227/voyager-1-finds-unexpected-wrinkles-at-the-edge-of-the-solar-system [slashdot.org] 30 June 2013
http://science.slashdot.org/story/13/03/20/1757256/voyager-1-officially-exits-our-solar-system [slashdot.org] 20 March 2013
http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/12/04/039257/voyager-1-so-close-to-interstellar-space-that-we-can-taste-it [slashdot.org] 03 December 2012
http://science.slashdot.org/story/11/12/07/2127247/voyager-1-exits-our-solar-system [slashdot.org] 07 December 2011
http://science.slashdot.org/story/05/09/26/1736216/voyager-1-sends-messages-from-the-edge [slashdot.org] 26 September 2005
http://science.slashdot.org/story/05/05/24/2334240/voyager-1-crosses-the-termination-shock [slashdot.org] 25 May 2005
http://science.slashdot.org/story/03/11/05/2019204/voyager-1-reaches-interstellar-space [slashdot.org] 05 November 2003
This has been going on for nearly 10 years. Arrghh!
Re:Close, but here is a better analogy (Score:2, Informative)
Motor skills are controlled from the back of the brain, not from the front.
Re:Maybe its the HARDWARE (Score:5, Informative)
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2010/05/who-are-the-creationists-by-the-numbers/#.UdBCoDu1H4s [discovermagazine.com]
Another thing to think about is that all creationists are not the same. There are they young earthers as well as those who accept that the earth is billions of years old but who think that God created life (and accept minor evolutionary change).
Re: It aint done left this galaxy yet ? (Score:4, Informative)
Re: it is still working? (Score:4, Informative)
Re: XKCD (Score:4, Informative)
other than the rainbow which was put there by the almighty as a promise to not end the world again by flood most natural phenomena are pretty irregular, aren't they?
The rainbow is part of the Bifrost bridge connecting Midgar (Earth) to Valhalla. Any alternate interpretation is vile propaganda spread by Christian heretics trying to sap our precious bodily fluids and turn us away from honor.