For the last few decades, space scientists have generally accepted that the bubble of gas and magnetic fields generated by the sun – known as the heliosphere – moves through space, creating three distinct boundary layers that culminate in an outermost bow shock. This shock is similar to the sonic boom created ahead of a supersonic jet. Earth itself certainly has one of these bow shocks on the sunward side of its magnetic environment, as do most other planets and many stars. A collection of new data from NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX), however, now indicate that the sun does not have a bow shock.
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| The heliosphere surrounding our solar system is buffeted by strong magnetic fields, shown here as the black, diagonal, upward-pointing arrows. The heliosphere and the interstellar material of the local cloud pass by each other at a speed of 52,000 miles per hour, as shown by the blue arrow. The density of the material and the ramming pressures of the magnetic field coupled with the relatively slow speed of the heliosphere add up to indicate that there is no bow shock at the front of the heliosphere. Credit: SWRI |
