Astronomical results Interstellar Boundary Explorer
animation illustrating ibex s collection of data on neutral atoms @ boundary of solar system.
initial data revealed unpredicted narrow ribbon 2 3 times brighter else in sky . initial interpretations suggest interstellar environment has far more influence on structuring heliosphere believed . unknown creating ena (energetic neutral atoms) ribbon. sun traveling through local interstellar cloud, , heliosphere s size , shape key factors in determining shielding power cosmic rays. should ibex detect changes in shape of ribbon, show how heliosphere interacting local fluff. has observed enas earth s magnetosphere.
in october 2010, significant changes detected in ribbon after 6 months, based on second set of ibex observations.
it went on detect neutral atoms outside solar system, found differ in composition sun. surprisingly, ibex discovered heliosphere has no bow shock, , measured speed relative local interstellar medium (lism) 23.2 km/s (52,000 mph), improving on previous measurement of 26.3 km/s (59,000 mph) ulysses. speeds equate 25% less pressure on sun s heliosphere thought.
in july 2013, ibex results revealed 4-lobed tail on solar system s heliosphere. spacecraft has imaged stellar-wind bubbles, called astrospheres, around other stars, tails these astrospheres.
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