Authors: P. C. Frisch, M. Bzowski, G. Livadiotis, D. J. McComas, E. Moebius, H.-R. Mueller, W. R. Pryor, N. A. Schwadron, J. M. Sokol, J. V. Vallerga, J. M. Ajello
Published in Science magazine volume 341, pages 1080--1082
Abstract: The journey of the Sun through the dynamically active local interstellar medium creates an evolving heliosphere environment. This motion drives a wind of interstellar material through the heliosphere that has been measured with Earth-orbiting and interplanetary spacecraft for 40 years. Recent results obtained by NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer mission during 2009-2010 suggest that neutral interstellar atoms flow into the solar system from a different direction than found previously. These prior measurements represent data collected from Ulysses and other spacecraft during 1992-2002 and a variety of older measurements acquired during 1972-1978. Consideration of all data types and their published results and uncertainties, over the three epochs of observations, indicates that the trend for the interstellar flow ecliptic longitude to increase linearly with time is statistically significant.
Download:
Science Magazine article and
Supplementary materials
Download: Electronic reprints
Any opinions expressed on this page or anywhere else on my web site have nothing to do with the University
of Chicago or the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics.