The Voyagers launched 35 years ago on a mission to tour the outer planets. They have dubbed this new zone a kind of "magnetic highway." Meanwhile, the level of lower-energy particles originating from inside the solar system briefly dropped.īecause there was no change in the direction of the magnetic field lines, scientists were confident that Voyager 1 had not yet broken through. The amount of high-energy cosmic rays streaming in from outside the solar system spiked. Scientists were surprised to discover the unexpected region at the fringes of the solar system ? a testament to the mysteries of space.įor the past year, the team has seen tantalizing clues that heralded a new space environment. Stone estimated Voyager 1 still has two to three years to travel before reaching the boundary that separates the solar system from the rest of space. Exactly when that day will come is unknown, partly because there's no precedent. Voyager 1 is on track to become the first manmade object to exit the solar system. Stone presented Voyager 1's latest location at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. "We do believe this may be the very last layer between us and interstellar space," said chief scientist Ed Stone of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the spacecraft. Over the summer, Voyager 1, which is farther along in its journey, crossed into this new region where the effects from the outside can be felt. Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, have been speeding away from the sun toward interstellar space, or the space between stars. LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The unstoppable Voyager 1 spacecraft has sailed into a new realm of the solar system that scientists did not know existed. Once that happens, it'll be the first manmade object to leave the solar system. Mission chief scientist Ed Stone says it's unknown when Voyager 1 will finally break through to interstellar space. 3, 2012 that the long-running spacecraft has entered a new region at the fringes of the solar system thought to be the last layer before the beginning of interstellar space, or the space between stars. This artist rendering provided by NASA shows Voyager 1 at the edge of the solar system. Related on HuffPost: " var coords = // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', ) Ĭnn debate equatorial guinea marine helicopter crash chicago weather star jones wheres my refund photo of whitney houston in casket Tehran later said it recovered data from the RQ-170 Sentinel, a top-secret drone equipped with stealth technology. Iran claimed in 2011 it brought down a CIA spy drone after it entered Iranian airspace from its eastern borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Ali Fadavi, as saying that the "intruding" drone was captured, but gave no further details on the location or when the incident occurred. The report Tuesday quotes the Guard's navy chief, Gen. drone after it entered the Iranian airspace over the Persian Gulf.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iran's state TV says the country's Revolutionary Guard has captured a U.S.