Confused about Voyager 1's 'exit' from the solar system?

Confused about Voyager 1's 'exit' from the solar system? - Technology &
Science - CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/st...questions.html

I feel like I’ve heard the 'Voyager has now left the solar system' announcement before, possibly several times. Is it just me?

No, but this is the first time NASA, the space agency that launched and runs the Voyager probe, has essentially agreed that Voyager 1 has left the solar system.

Previously:

In June 2013, NASA implied that Voyager might be exiting the solar system. But in July, it said the evidence it had detected had been a false alarm.

On March 20, 2013, a paper published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters by Bill Weber, professor emeritus of astronomy at New Mexico State University, announced that Voyager had exited the heliosphere in August 2012 — the same date that NASA now agrees was Voyager’s exit date — and travelled beyond the influence of the sun, based on cosmic ray data from the space probe.

That prompted a rebuttal from NASA, which issued a statement from Voyager project scientist Edward Stone saying, “It is the consensus of the Voyager science team that Voyager 1 has not yet left the solar system or reached interstellar space.” He added that NASA scientists expected a change in the magnetic field when the spacecraft crossed into interstellar space, and in the meantime they thought Voyager 1 was in a previously unknown region called a “magnetic highway” between the heliosphere and interstellar space.

On Aug. 16, 2013, a team led by University of Maryland physicist Marc Swisdak, published a paper in Astrophysical Journal Letters containing a scientific model that suggested scientists are wrong to expect a change in the magnetic field direction at the edge of the solar system. He and his colleagues said they therefore agreed that Voyager had left the solar system in the summer of 2012. NASA issued a statement saying that the Swisdak’s scientific model was “new and different from other models used so far” and that the other models suggest Voyager 1 was still inside the heliosphere.

On 9/13/2013 1:41 PM, Yousuf Khan wrote:
Confused about Voyager 1's 'exit' from the solar system? - Technology &
Science - CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/st...questions.html


I feel like I’ve heard the 'Voyager has now left the solar system'
announcement before, possibly several times. Is it just me?

No, but this is the first time NASA, the space agency that launched
and runs the Voyager probe, has essentially agreed that Voyager 1 has
left the solar system.

Previously:

In June 2013, NASA implied that Voyager might be exiting the solar
system. But in July, it said the evidence it had detected had been a
false alarm.

On March 20, 2013, a paper published in the journal Geophysical
Research Letters by Bill Weber, professor emeritus of astronomy at New
Mexico State University, announced that Voyager had exited the
heliosphere in August 2012 — the same date that NASA now agrees was
Voyager’s exit date — and travelled beyond the influence of the sun,
based on cosmic ray data from the space probe.

That prompted a rebuttal from NASA, which issued a statement from
Voyager project scientist Edward Stone saying, “It is the consensus of
the Voyager science team that Voyager 1 has not yet left the solar
system or reached interstellar space.” He added that NASA scientists
expected a change in the magnetic field when the spacecraft crossed
into interstellar space, and in the meantime they thought Voyager 1
was in a previously unknown region called a “magnetic highway” between
the heliosphere and interstellar space.

On Aug. 16, 2013, a team led by University of Maryland physicist Marc
Swisdak, published a paper in Astrophysical Journal Letters containing
a scientific model that suggested scientists are wrong to expect a
change in the magnetic field direction at the edge of the solar
system. He and his colleagues said they therefore agreed that Voyager
had left the solar system in the summer of 2012. NASA issued a
statement saying that the Swisdak’s scientific model was “new and
different from other models used so far” and that the other models
suggest Voyager 1 was still inside the heliosphere.

Well, Phil Plait on his Bad Astronomy blog has some comments on the
subject;
http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astro...r_sp ace.html

He says that if you count the Oort cloud, which extends for several
light years, as part of the Solar system then it hasn't really
left the Solar system. However, it is in outer space, since it is
outside the heliopause.

Bill

On Friday, September 13, 2013 11:41:04 AM UTC-7, Yousuf Khan wrote:
Confused about Voyager 1's 'exit' from the solar system? - Technology &

Science - CBC News

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/st...questions.html



I feel like I’ve heard the 'Voyager has now left the solar system' announcement before, possibly several times. Is it just me?



No, but this is the first time NASA, the space agency that launched and runs the Voyager probe, has essentially agreed that Voyager 1 has left the solar system.



Previously:



In June 2013, NASA implied that Voyager might be exiting the solar system. But in July, it said the evidence it had detected had been a false alarm.



On March 20, 2013, a paper published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters by Bill Weber, professor emeritus of astronomy at New Mexico State University, announced that Voyager had exited the heliosphere in August 2012 — the same date that NASA now agrees was Voyager’s exit date — and travelled beyond the influence of the sun, based on cosmic ray data from the space probe.



That prompted a rebuttal from NASA, which issued a statement from Voyager project scientist Edward Stone saying, “It is the consensus of the Voyager science team that Voyager 1 has not yet left the solar system or reached interstellar space.” He added that NASA scientists expected a change in the magnetic field when the spacecraft crossed into interstellar space, and in the meantime they thought Voyager 1 was in a previously unknown region called a “magnetic highway” between the heliosphere and interstellar space.



On Aug. 16, 2013, a team led by University of Maryland physicist Marc Swisdak, published a paper in Astrophysical Journal Letters containing a scientific model that suggested scientists are wrong to expect a change in the magnetic field direction at the edge of the solar system. He and his colleagues said they therefore agreed that Voyager had left the solar system in the summer of 2012. NASA issued a statement saying that the Swisdak’s scientific model was “new and different from other models used so far” and that the other models suggest Voyager 1 was still inside the heliosphere.

http://xkcd.com/1189/

On 15/09/2013 12:02 AM, palsing wrote:
http://xkcd.com/1189/

LOL! My feelings exactly.

Yousuf Khan