When
3:30 p.m., Sept. 16, 2008
Where
Kuiper Space Sciences Building 308
Professor Randy Jokipii (LPL) is the scheduled speaker.
The two Voyager spacecraft were launched more than 30 years ago and visited the giant planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. They were then on trajectories to take them out of the Solar System. At that time, NASA, noting that
they were a valuable resource for studying the distant reaches of the heliosphere reconstituted them as the Voyager Interstellar Mission. Voyager 1 is now at more than 100 AU from the Sun, and Voyager 2 is following, some 20 AU behind.
In August, 2007, Voyager 2 crossed the heliospheric termination shock, following Voyager 1, which crossed the shock in late 2004. These in situ measurements, combined with related remote observations and modeling, have transformed our understanding of the outer heliosphere and the interaction of the Sun with the interstellar medium.
Both Voyagers are now moving further from the Sun,taking measurements in the heliosheath, and targeting the heliopause where the first in situ measurements of the interstellar plasma will hopefully be taken.
In this talk I will summarize the current picture and discuss some of the new and ongoing issues.
The two Voyager spacecraft were launched more than 30 years ago and visited the giant planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. They were then on trajectories to take them out of the Solar System. At that time, NASA, noting that
they were a valuable resource for studying the distant reaches of the heliosphere reconstituted them as the Voyager Interstellar Mission. Voyager 1 is now at more than 100 AU from the Sun, and Voyager 2 is following, some 20 AU behind.
In August, 2007, Voyager 2 crossed the heliospheric termination shock, following Voyager 1, which crossed the shock in late 2004. These in situ measurements, combined with related remote observations and modeling, have transformed our understanding of the outer heliosphere and the interaction of the Sun with the interstellar medium.
Both Voyagers are now moving further from the Sun,taking measurements in the heliosheath, and targeting the heliopause where the first in situ measurements of the interstellar plasma will hopefully be taken.
In this talk I will summarize the current picture and discuss some of the new and ongoing issues.
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