IS VOYAGER 1 INSIDE AN INTERSTELLAR FLUX TRANSFER EVENT?
- University of New Hampshire, 105 Main Street, Durham, NH 03824 (United States)
Plasma wave observations from Voyager 1 have recently shown large increases in plasma density, to about 0.1 cm{sup –3}, consistent with the density of the local interstellar medium. However, corresponding magnetic field observations continue to show the spiral magnetic field direction observed throughout the inner heliosheath. These apparently contradictory observations may be reconciled if Voyager 1 is inside an interstellar flux transfer event—similar to flux transfer events routinely seen at the Earth's magnetopause. If this were the case, Voyager 1 remains inside the heliopause and based on the Voyager 1 observations we can determine the polarity of the interstellar magnetic field for the first time.
- OSTI ID:
- 22364115
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 778, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
ENERGETIC NEUTRAL HYDROGEN OBSERVATIONS DEMONSTRATE THAT VOYAGER 1 IS NOT OBSERVING THE EXTRAORDINARILY STRONG INTERSTELLAR MAGNETIC FIELD
Voyager 1 observations of the interstellar magnetic field and the transition from the heliosheath