Unusual ripples detected at the boundary of the solar system

A team of researchers has detected a strange ripple in a part of space at the boundary of the solar system. In their paper, published in Nature Astronomy, the team describes an analysis of data from Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, as well as the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX), which aims to study the characteristics of the solar system's boundaries.

Previous studies have shown that at the boundaries of the solar system there is a point at which the solar wind slows down to the speed at which sound can propagate - the termination shock boundary. Scientists have also discovered that there is a point at which the solar wind becomes unable to resist the pressure exerted by interstellar space - the heliopause. The two Voyager space probes passed this boundary and entered interstellar space. When they did, they sent sensor data back to Earth.

After analyzing data from all three sources, scientists noted the sudden change in pressure created by the solar wind in 2014 and used the relatively short time scale of the event to investigate. They measured the charged neutral atoms that appeared when the solar wind collided with the interstellar wind.

Because some of the atoms managed to escape into interstellar space and others were pushed back into the solar system, the researchers were able to use the data as a form of cosmic echolocation. Using computer simulations, the scientists found that huge ripples had formed in the boundary regions. Astrophysicists also found shifts in the distance to the heliopause. Experts suggested that its shape was heterogeneous and was changing for unknown reasons.

Researchers hope to learn more about the boundary of the solar system using data from a new probe scheduled for launch in 2025 - it will be able to transmit measurements of neutral atom emissions with greater accuracy.