Voyager 1 leaves the Solar System?
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Digital model of the Solar System as seen from the outside (Image: NASA)
Gold-plated record carried by Voyager 1 containing greetings to any alien civilization that finds it (Image: NASA)
Model of the Voyager spacecraft (Image: NASA)
Panoramic view of the Solar System as seen by Voyager 1 (Image: NASA)
Earth (circled) as seen from Voyager 1 (Image: NASA)
Artist's impression of the Voyager 1 spacecraft passing Saturn (Image: NASA)
Relative positions of the Voyager and Pioneer interstellar probes (Image: NASA)
Old heliosphere model (Image: NASA)
New heliosphere model showing "froth" made of magnetic bubbles (Image: NASA)
Comparison of the old and new heliosphere models with the new one showing magnetic "froth" (Image: NASA)
Artist's impression of Voyager 1 (Image: NASA)
Artist's concept of the two Voyager spacecraft in the heliosheath (Image: NASA)
Astrospheres, bubbles of gas and charged particles surrounding stars in a manner similar to the heliosphere around the Solar System (Image: NASA)
Heliosphere diagram (Image: NASA)
Rising cosmic ray counts as Voyager 1 approaches interstellar space (Image: NASA)
Direction of solar and interstellar magnetic fields (Image: NASA)
Behavior of the Sun's magnetic field and charged particles as Voyager passes through the "magnetic highway" (Image: NASA)
Magnetic field strength and direction of the region Voyager 1 is passing through (Image: NASA)
Artist's impression of Voyager 1 in the "magnetic highway" (Imaeg: NASA)
Voyager's low-energy charged particle instrument (Image: NASA)
Voyager probes in the heliosheath (Image: NASA)
Voyager 1 instruments (Image: NASA)
Voyager 1 launching September 5, 1977 (Image: NASA)
Heliosphere and the bow shock wave (Image: NASA)
Case for Voyager 1's gold-plated record with instructions on how to play is and a map showing Earth's location (Image: NASA)
Plasma flow near Voyager 1 (Image: NASA)
Simplified view of the heliosphere (Image: NASA)
Changes in cosmic rays and protons as Voyager 1 passes through the heliosheath (Image: NASA)
Article Summary
Has Voyager 1 left the Solar System? Is it officially the first spacecraft to reach interstellar space? It depends on whom you ask. NASA says no, but W.R. Webber of the New Mexico State University Department of Astronomy and F.B. McDonald of the University of Maryland Institute of Physical Science and Technology say yes. They contend that the unmanned, nuclear-powered probe left the Solar System on August 25, 2012 at a distance of 121.7 AU (18.2 billion km) from the Sun when its instruments on board detected a major shift in cosmic ray intensity.
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