NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft, first launched in 1977 and currently the man-made object furthest from the Earth, recently reached the furthest edges of our solar system, an area that scientists believe is the final barrier the craft needs to pass through before reaching interstellar space. According to NASA's report, Voyager 1 reached the "magnetic highway" region for the first time in July of this year and has solidly been in that region since re-entering in late August. The area is known as a "magnetic highway" due to the Sun's magnetic field lines lining up interstellar magnetic field lines in the area where Voyager 1 is currently located. Once Voyager 1 leaves the solar system, scientists predict that the direction of the magnetic...
via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/12/3/3723972/voyager-1-magnetic-highway-solar-system-edge
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