heliosheath

Some six years after its companion probe (a lot of erata and embarrassment here but worth remembering for the government shutdown) crossed the threshold into interstellar space, Voyager 2 (having taken the scenic route) some nineteen billion kilometres (sixteen light hours) from Earth exited the heliosphere, the protective envelop of charged particles emanating from the Sun that demarcates our star’s sphere of influence, one year ago. Transmitting valuable telemetry on the shape and nature of this bubble that in one sense defines the Solar System, researchers have been pouring over the data from Voyager 2 during the ensuing months and have gained some insights what little eddies and gyres that our Sun produces in the vastness of space.