For the First Time, Human-Made Probe Samples Atoms From Beyond the Solar System
IBEX IBEX has caught the interstellar wind that surrounds and compresses our heliosphere and has found that it travels more slowly and in a different direction than previously thought. NASA A small Earth-orbiting probe has sampled the interstellar wind for the first time, detecting four types of atoms that originated in distant stars and traveled across the universe. The new measurements from the Interstellar Boundary Explorer give astronomers a glimpse of the cosmos outside our sun's sphere of influence, and provide some clues about how and where our solar system formed. IBEX orbits around Earth, but has been mapping the edge of the heliosphere, the farthest reaches of the solar system. Particles streaming from the sun create this protective bubble, which protects the planets from incoming cosmic rays. The boundary between the heliosphere bubble and the interstellar wind is a strange place, and it's of great interest to astronomers. The Voyager...