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New spacecraft to explore interstellar boundary

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"The "termination shock" sounds like the stuff science fiction movies are made of. In reality, it marks the boundary between our solar system and interstellar space. The invisible "shock" forms as our sun's solar winds begin to encounter the gases and magnetic fields of outer space, which slows the winds down abruptly.

On October 19, NASA will launch the first spacecraft designed to image and map the interactions that take place in this boundary zone. The Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, will be propelled from the Kwajalein Atoll into a high-altitude orbit that will eventually take it about 200,000 miles from Earth, where it will capture images of processes taking place in the termination shock and beyond..."
EddieStarr

7 responses // New spacecraft to explore interstellar boundary

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    That really is something out of science fiction. But it's real! Space, The Final Frontier yes indeedie.

    dankitti
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    Incredible, and I love how Termination Shock is such a glamorous, sci-fi thriller style name. Interesting post - I'd never thought that there is such a clearly defined boundary between our solar system and outer space. I wonder if there's a similar phenomenon, obviously on a larger scale, on the edge of our galaxy?

    purplefox
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    I'd like to go thruTermination Shock while eating Space Salad.

    sallymae_hogsby
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    To the future, Stars and Beyond !

    BIOHAZARD
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    Interesting stuff, I wonder if they will be putting a plaque on the craft as they did with the Pioneer and Voyager Deep Space missions.

    QueerNews
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    I wonder how fast this baby can go!

    Dmitri_Molotov
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    I first saw it and thought... Does it travel thru space? OR does space travel AROUND it?

    Physics anyone? Quantum?

    arcticspirit

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