Posted on 06/25/2007 12:30:53 PM PDT by uglybiker
Our solar system is travelling in a different direction to the rest of the Milky Way, scientists say.
When they used radio signals from two spacecraft nearing interstellar space to map the route, they had some unexpected results.
The researchers determined that the magnetic field in interstellar space is propelling our solar system along at a 60-90° angle to the rest of the galaxy.
That's happening because the part of the interstellar magnetic field that comes closest to our system is not parallel to the spiraling arms of the galaxy, as it appears to be elsewhere.
As a result, our solar system has taken on a bullet-shaped appearance as it soars through space, says Dr Merav Opher, an assistant professor from George Mason University in Virginia, who publishes the research in the journal Science.
The researchers used data from the two 30-year-old Voyager probes and computer modelling to calculate the solar system's position.
To measure our solar system, scientists study the places where the Sun's influence ends and interstellar space begins, an area known as the heliosphere.
The Sun's domain is flecked with ionised particles called the solar wind, which surrounds the system like a bubble. Beyond the bubble is interstellar space, which contains mostly hydrogen and helium.
Researchers modelled the area where the heliosphere runs into the interstellar magnetic field and beyond to find the odd angle.
Studying the interaction between the heliosphere and interstellar space yields insights into phenomena that can affect Earth, such as galactic cosmic rays, points out Professor Randy Jokipii, with the University of Arizona in Tucson, in a related paper in Science.
Voyager 1 has passed through the outer bubble of solar wind is now exploring a transition region known as the heliosheath. Voyager 2 has yet to pass through the solar wind termination zone.
Additional studies are planned using both probes as well as the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, and a new spacecraft called the Interstellar Boundary Explorer, is scheduled to launch next year.
Related link (with pics and more links):
“Our solar system is travelling in a different direction to the rest of the Milky Way, scientists say.”
Look at that, Pa. They’re all out of step except for our Johnny!
Different FROM!
(nothing personal)
We’re all doomed unless another galaxy takes us in.
Ping
Damn this global warming! The rest of the solar system is kicking us out because we have failed to listen to algore!
and all this time, I thought it was just me
Ping for the expert.
Don’t panic!
LOL
He’s gone, Jim.
Try Darwin Central.
Oh, my gawd, that makes my head hurt. The Milky Way is sideways in the sky? Hasn't this person ever heard of the fact that the Earth is tilted about 21 degrees on its axis?
ping
So maybe our solar system isn’t part of the Milky Way afterall, but is merely passing through.
...and of course, it’s.....BUSH’S FAULT!!
(Sorry...somebody had to say it.)
OK. This is some more of that crap associated with the Mayan calender end of times in 2012 nonsense. The following is on the site.
DISCOVERY OF NOVEMBER 30th 2006: The real reasons for both global warming and the ending of the Mayan calendar in 2012. We are part of a smaller galaxy that the Milky Way has put the ‘come hither’ on and we are just now coming down even with and apparently going to actually turn and join with the spinning whirlpool Milky Way disc after some 2 billion years of circling around it at a near right angle as part of our parent galaxy called the Sagittarius Dwarf.
This grand turning is also the root cause for the discontinuation of the Mayan calendar (the most accurate on the planet) because the ‘read-point’ of the Pleiades star cluster from Earth the calendar was based upon could no longer be a constant as we begin to steer away from the earlier chart-ably predictable movement. This is a third discovery made 5 months after the first two, and possibly gives 2012 ancient prophesy issues a somewhat different perspective and footing.
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