heliosphere

These particles, coming toward us from all directions, some of them bouncing off of the inside of the heliosphere, clue scientists in on how the sun’s solar wind interacts with interstellar space as our solar system drifts around the galaxy.

Still, Opher and her colleagues believe that in-situ measurements are crucial, and propose such a probe to go out several hundred astronomical units beyond the heliosphere for the 2030s.

Eventually, the energetic neutral atoms reneutralize and radiate back in, toward the heliosphere.

This year, using data from IBEX, McComas and his colleagues were able to create a 3-D map of the heliosphere—from the inside.

The discovery of the IBEX Ribbon, which is invisible to both telescopes and the human eye, was one of scientists’ first forays into understanding more about our heliosphere—a bubble-like shield made up of solar winds.