Voyager 1 finds ‘magnetic highway’ at solar system’s edge

LOS ANGELES — Voyager 1, the spacecraft famous for beaming back striking photos of Jupiter, Saturn and their moons more than 30 years ago, has made still another surprising discovery: the existence of an unpredicted zone at the very edge of the solar system.

It had been thought that the NASA probe had already been passing through the outermost section of the solar system on its way toward the heliopause – the boundary where the solar wind ends and interstellar space begins. For that reason, the existence of yet another district at our cosmic neighborhood’s edge was completely unexpected, said Stamatios Krimigis, a solar physicist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., and leader of the team that operates Voyager’s low-energy charged particle instrument.

“Nature is imaginative,” he said Monday.

Speaking to reporters from the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, Krimigis and former Jet Propulsion Laboratory director Edward Stone described the newfound region as a “magnetic highway” that connects the heliosphere, the bubble surrounding the solar system, to the vast expanse of space beyond.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

NASA researchers said in September that they thought that Voyager 1 might pass out of the solar system by the end of the year. As the craft neared the heliopause, scientists expected to detect fewer particles of solar wind and more cosmic rays pouring in from interstellar space. They also expected the magnetic field to change direction.

Since late July, Krimigis said, the intensity of the solar wind particles had decreased a thousand-fold, while cosmic ray intensities rose.

“If we had looked at particle data alone, we would have said, ‘We’re out! Goodbye, solar system!’ ” he said.

But though they could tell the strength of the magnetic field had increased, Voyager’s instruments never detected the anticipated change in the field’s direction, said Leonard Burlaga, a member of the team that operates Voyager’s magnetometer from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

For this reason, he said, “there’s no evidence we’ve entered interstellar space.”

Rather, the highway region, which is created by a magnetic field originating from the southern hemisphere of our sun, appears to allow particles from within the heliosphere to escape into interstellar space while permitting particles from the outside to pour in.

Gary Zank, a space physicist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, said he wasn’t convinced Voyager 1 was still contained within the solar system and that it would take several months to figure out whether the probe had crossed the heliopause after all.

Different theoretical models predict a different-looking boundary, he explained. Either way, he said, it was “a major discovery.”

“As ever, Voyager seems to have a remarkable capacity for providing observations that suggest . we’re almost right,” he said. “It would be nice for the theory and the observations to agree all at once. But it may not ever happen that way.”

Voyager 1 is currently about 11 million miles from the sun, making it the most distant manmade object in space, according to NASA. Its twin probe, Voyager 2, is about 9 billion miles from the sun.

Launched in 1977, they are the elder statesmen of the working NASA fleet. Their onboard scientific instruments, which are fueled by radioactive plutonium-238, will begin powering down in 2020 and are expected to stop operating altogether in 2025.

The Voyagers should pass through the heliopause before then.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Snohomish County Health Department Director Dennis Worsham on Tuesday, June 11, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County Health Department director tapped as WA health secretary

Dennis Worsham became the first director of the county health department in January 2023. His last day will be July 3.

‘No Kings’ rallies draw thousands to Everett and throughout Snohomish County

Demonstrations were held nationwide to protest what organizers say is overreach by President Donald Trump and his administration.

Police Cmdr. Scott King answers questions about the Flock Safety license plate camera system on Thursday, June 5, 2025 in Mountlake Terrace, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mountlake Terrace approves Flock camera system after public pushback

The council approved the $54,000 license plate camera system agreement by a vote of 5-2.

Cascadia College Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor Midori Sakura looks in the surrounding trees for wildlife at the North Creek Wetlands on Wednesday, June 4, 2025 in Bothell, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Cascadia College ecology students teach about the importance of wetlands

To wrap up the term, students took family and friends on a guided tour of the North Creek wetlands.

Community members gather for the dedication of the Oso Landslide Memorial following the ten-year remembrance of the slide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
The Daily Herald garners 6 awards from regional journalism competition

The awards recognize the best in journalism from media outlets across Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

Edmonds Mayor Mike Rosen goes through an informational slideshow about the current budget situation in Edmonds during a roundtable event at the Edmonds Waterfront Center on Monday, April 7, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edmonds mayor recommends $19M levy lid lift for November

The city’s biennial budget assumed a $6 million levy lid lift. The final levy amount is up to the City Council.

A firefighting helicopter carries a bucket of water from a nearby river to the Bolt Creek Fire on Saturday, Sep. 10, 2022, on U.S. 2 near Index, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Snohomish County property owners can prepare for wildfire season

Clean your roofs, gutters and flammable material while completing a 5-foot-buffer around your house.

(City of Everett)
Everett’s possible new stadium has a possible price tag

City staff said a stadium could be built for $82 million, lower than previous estimates. Bonds and private investment would pay for most of it.

Jennifer Humelo, right, hugs Art Cass outside of Full Life Care Snohomish County on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘I’ll lose everything’: Snohomish County’s only adult day health center to close

Full Life Care in Everett, which supports adults with disabilities, will shut its doors July 19 due to state funding challenges.

Marysville is planning a new indoor sports facility, 350 apartments and a sizable hotel east of Ebey Waterfront Park. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New report shifts outlook of $25M Marysville sports complex

A report found a conceptual 100,000-square-foot sports complex may require public investment to pencil out.

Logo for news use featuring Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Snohomish County Board of Health looking to fill vacancy

The county is accepting applications until the board seat is filled.

A recently finished log jam is visible along the Pilchuck River as a helicopter hovers in the distance to pick up a tree for another log jam up river on Wednesday, June 11, 2025 in Granite Falls, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Tulalip Tribes and DNR team up on salmon restoration project along the Pilchuck River

Tulalip Tribes and the state Department of Natural Resources are creating 30 log jams on the Upper Pilchuck River for salmon habitat.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.