Category: Space > Heliopause
One of the most intriguing phenomena at the edge of our solar system is the heliopause, which marks the boundary between the solar wind emitted by the Sun and the interstellar medium. This region is where the pressure from the solar wind, a continuous stream of charged particles, balances with the pressure from the gas and dust in interstellar space. The Voyager 1 spacecraft, launched in 1977, became the first human-made object to cross the heliopause in 2012, entering interstellar space. This monumental achievement not only provided scientists with unprecedented data about the conditions outside our solar system but also revealed that the heliopause is not a sharp boundary; rather, it is a complex and dynamic region that can vary in distance and density, giving us insights into the interactions between our solar system and the rest of the galaxy.