Hello All!   
      
   Voyager 1 at the Final Frontier    
      
   June 22, 2012: For nearly 35 years, NASA's Voyager 1 probe has been hurtling   
   toward the edge of the solar system, flying through the dark void on a mission   
   unlike anything attempted before.  One day, mission controllers hope, Voyager   
   1 will leave the solar system behind and enter the realm of the    
   tars-interstellar space.    
      
   That day may be upon us.    
      
   "The latest data from Voyager 1 indicate that we are clearly in a new region   
   where things are changing quickly," says Ed Stone, Voyager project scientist   
   at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.  This is very exciting.   
   We are approaching the solar system's final frontier."    
      
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFnJzyxd78o   
      
   A new ScienceCast video follows Voyager 1 to the edge of the solar system.   
   Play it   
      
   The "frontier" he's referring to is the edge of the heliosphere, a great   
   magnetic bubble that surrounds the sun and planets.  The heliosphere is the   
   sun's own magnetic field inflated to gargantuan proportions by the solar   
   wind.  Inside lies the solar system-"home."  Outside lies interstellar space,   
   where no spacecraft has gone before.    
      
   A telltale sign of the frontier's approach is the number of cosmic rays   
   hitting Voyager 1.  Cosmic rays are high energy particles such as protons and   
   helium nuclei accelerated to near-light speed by distant supernovas and black   
   holes. The heliosphere protects the solar system from these subatomic bullets,   
   deflecting and slowing many of them before they can reach the inner planets.    
      
   As Voyager approaches the frontier, the number of cosmic rays has gone up.    
      
   "From January 2009 to January 2012, there had been a gradual increase of about   
   25 percent in the amount of galactic cosmic rays Voyager was encountering,"   
   says Stone.    
      
   http://science.nasa.gov/media/medialibrary/2012/06/22/data.jpg   
      
   A sharp increase in cosmic rays could herald Voyager 1's long-awaited   
   breakthrough to interstellar space. "More recently, however, we have seen a   
   very rapid escalation in that part of the energy spectrum. Beginning on May 7,   
   2012, the cosmic ray hits have increased five percent in a week and nine   
   percent in a month."    
      
   The sharp increase means that Voyager 1 could be on the verge of a   
   breakthrough 18 billion kilometers from Earth.    
      
   When Voyager 1 actually exits the heliosphere, researchers expect to see other   
   changes as well.  For one thing, energetic particles from the sun will become   
   scarce as the spacecraft leaves the heliosphere behind.  Also, the magnetic   
   field around Voyager 1 will change direction from that of the sun's magnetic   
   field to that of the new and unexplored magnetism of interstellar space.     
      
   So far, neither of these things has happened.  Nevertheless, the sudden   
   increase in cosmic rays suggests it might not be long.    
      
   Meanwhile, Voyager 2 is making its own dash for the stars, but because of its   
   slower pace lags a few billion kilometers behind Voyager 1.  Both spacecraft   
   remain in good health.    
      
   "When the Voyagers launched in 1977, the Space Age was all of 20 years old,"   
   says Stone. "Many of us on the team dreamed of reaching interstellar space,   
   but we really had no way of knowing how long a journey it would be -- or if   
   these two vehicles that we invested so much time and energy in would operate   
   long enough to reach it. "    
      
   As the Space Age nears the 55-year mark, there is little doubt:  The Voyagers   
   are going the distance.    
      
   For more news from the edge of the solar system, please visit vo   
   ager.jpl.nasa.gov   
      
      
   Author: Dr. Tony Phillips| Production editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit:   
   Science@NASA   
      
   More Information    
   A Big Surprise at the Edge of the Solar System -- Science@NASA    
      
   Voyager, the Love Story -- Science@NASA    
      
   Voyager Makes an INterstellar Discovery -- Science@NASA    
      
   Voyager Set to Enter Interstellar Space -- Science@NASA   
       
      
   Regards,   
      
   Roger    
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LA - (1:3828/7)