NASA's Voyager 1 discovers a fiery hot zone in space — but there's no fire! What's going on?
NASA
's Voyager 1 stands out as a true classic. Launched way back in 1977– when cassette tapes were still popular– this old spacecraft is still making news.
Recently, Voyager 1 discovered a very hot and energetic area just beyond the edge of our solar system that scientists didn't expect.
This new zone, which researchers are calling a 'firewall,' could change what we thought about the border between our solar system and the vast space beyond.
A hot zone without fire: What Voyager detected
Voyager 1 has entered a region where particles are so energetic that their temperatures measure between 30,000 and 50,000 degrees Celsius, as per an Economic Times report.
But don't worry– this doesn't mean there are flames or fire. The particles are spread out so thinly that they don't act like heat does on Earth.
The spacecraft is safe and working just fine. What's really interesting is that scientists didn't expect to find this kind of hot zone. It's making them rethink what they know about how space behaves just beyond the edge of our solar system.
Redefining where the solar system ends
For many years, scientists have debated where the solar system really ends.
by Taboola
by Taboola
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As per a report by Economic Times, some say it's the faraway Oort Cloud, but NASA defines the edge as the heliopause– the spot where the Sun's solar wind slows down and can no longer push back against particles coming from outside our solar system.
Voyager 1 crossed this boundary back in 2012. But now, finding this unexpected hot zone just beyond it shows that the boundary between our solar system and interstellar space isn't as clear or simple as we thought.
This new discovery suggests that the outer edge of the Sun's influence is more complex than we once believed.
Magnetic fields
defy previous assumptions
Along with the heat surprise, Voyager 1 has been sending back unexpected information about magnetic fields. Scientists thought the magnetic conditions outside the heliopause would be very different from those inside. But Voyager's data shows there's some magnetic connection between the two areas, as per the ET report.
This finding has sparked new questions about whether the Sun's magnetic influence reaches farther than we thought, or if interstellar space is more linked to our solar system than we previously believed.
Images: Canva (for representative purposes only)
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