3 ms·

But why are there hard boundaries before that bounced back?

jacquesm 3y ago
Gravity. The suns gravity field is in theory infinite but there is a pretty precise boundary where it stops to have an immediate effect on the things around it and orbits around the sun are no longer possible.
- pdonis 3y ago
  > The suns gravity field is in theory infinite but there is a pretty precise boundary where it stops to have an immediate effect on the things around it and orbits around the sun are no longer a thing. This is not correct. The particles are not in orbit about the Sun, they're coming from the Sun--they're the solar wind. The heliopause is where the solar wind particles are stopped by the pressure of the surrounding interstellar medium. When Voyager passed that point (the heliopause), the number of particles hitting it dropped drastically.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - fnordpiglet 3y ago
    Correct: The heliopause is the theoretical boundary where the Sun's solar wind is stopped by the interstellar medium; where the solar wind's strength is no longer great enough to push back the stellar winds of the surrounding stars. This is the boundary where the interstellar medium and solar wind pressures balance. The crossing of the heliopause should be signaled by a sharp drop in the temperature of solar wind-charged particles,[30] a change in the direction of the magnetic field, and an increase in the number of galactic cosmic rays.[34] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliosphere#Heliopause https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliosphere#Heliopause
  - emchammer 3y ago
    Why don't particles from surrounding interstellar medium show up in the graph as matching the pressure of the solar wind?
    - dotnet00 3y ago
      Presumably simply because there isn't as much density. The interstellar medium particles must be less dense but more energetic, thus producing the pressure that causes the heliosphere to be restricted.
    - pdonis 3y ago
      As I understand it, the much smaller number of particles hitting Voyager now are the interstellar medium. The rate of particles hitting Voyager is not a measure of the pressure of the ambient plasma.
colanderman 3y ago
Presumably the exact location of the heliopause fluctuates due to perturbations in the sun's emissions.

Gravity. The suns gravity field is in theory infinite but there is a pretty precise boundary where it stops to have an immediate effect on the things around it and orbits around the sun are no longer possible.

pdonis 3y ago
> The suns gravity field is in theory infinite but there is a pretty precise boundary where it stops to have an immediate effect on the things around it and orbits around the sun are no longer a thing. This is not correct. The particles are not in orbit about the Sun, they're coming from the Sun--they're the solar wind. The heliopause is where the solar wind particles are stopped by the pressure of the surrounding interstellar medium. When Voyager passed that point (the heliopause), the number of particles hitting it dropped drastically.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- fnordpiglet 3y ago
  Correct: The heliopause is the theoretical boundary where the Sun's solar wind is stopped by the interstellar medium; where the solar wind's strength is no longer great enough to push back the stellar winds of the surrounding stars. This is the boundary where the interstellar medium and solar wind pressures balance. The crossing of the heliopause should be signaled by a sharp drop in the temperature of solar wind-charged particles,[30] a change in the direction of the magnetic field, and an increase in the number of galactic cosmic rays.[34] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliosphere#Heliopause https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliosphere#Heliopause
- emchammer 3y ago
  Why don't particles from surrounding interstellar medium show up in the graph as matching the pressure of the solar wind?
  - dotnet00 3y ago
    Presumably simply because there isn't as much density. The interstellar medium particles must be less dense but more energetic, thus producing the pressure that causes the heliosphere to be restricted.
  - pdonis 3y ago
    As I understand it, the much smaller number of particles hitting Voyager now are the interstellar medium. The rate of particles hitting Voyager is not a measure of the pressure of the ambient plasma.

colanderman 3y ago

Presumably the exact location of the heliopause fluctuates due to perturbations in the sun's emissions.