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Topic Name: The Local magnetic field differs from that of a larger scale interstellar magnetic field thought to parallel the galactic plane.
Category: Solar cells
Research persons: Merav Opher,Tamas Gombosi,Edward C. Stone.
Location: George Mason University,4400 University Drive, United States
Details
Merav Opher, assistant professor of
physics and astronomy, and her colleagues Ed Stone of the California Institute
of Technology and Tamas Gombosi from the University of Michigan have published a
paper in Science magazine that suggests the direction of the local interstellar
magnetic field, located just outside of our solar system.The paper, “The
Orientation of the Local Interstellar Magnetic Field,” uses data sets gathered
from the Voyager spacecrafts, which recently crossed the termination shock at
the edge of the solar system after having been launched in 1977.Up to now,
scientists have believed that the magnetic field outside of our solar system was
parallel to the galactic plane. But Opher, Stone and Gombosi used two data sets
to conclude that the magnetic field is actually 60-90 degrees perpendicular to
the plane.Their data also strongly suggests that the solar system is asymmetric.
While scientists thought the northern and southern hemispheres would be similar,
Opher's team has found that the southern hemisphere is more compressed due to
the pull of the magnetic field. Even the eastern and western hemispheres don't
look the same, giving our solar system more of a bullet shape.
“Scientists have often looked at the larger scale magnetic fields of the
galaxy. The work we are doing is on a much smaller scale, looking just beyond
our solar system. It is like looking at our backyard as opposed to looking at
the country,” says Opher. “For the first time we know what the local
magnetic field looks like, and astronomers will be very excited about this.”
Opher is the only female scientist – and by far one of the youngest scientists
– working to calculate the flow of particles and magnetic fields at the edge
of the solar system.
Many millions of miles past Pluto, the solar wind of our sun begins to lose its
dominance when it comes into contact with the interstellar wind from the rest of
our galaxy. Scientists consider the place where the two winds meet – called
the heliopause
– as the edge of our solar system. Opher analyzed radio emissions from the
heliopause and the streaming direction of ions from the termination shock, which
is the area where the million-mile-per-hour solar wind slows to about 250,000
miles per hour.
Their work suggests that the field orientation of the local magnetic field
differs from that of a larger scale interstellar magnetic field thought to
parallel the galactic plane. This conclusion will have an enormous impact on the
way physicists and astronomers measure the physics and properties of the areas
beyond our solar system.
About Researchers:
Merav Opher,
Physics
and Astronomy Dept.
College of
Science
Assistant Professor
,
Office: 363B Sci
&Tech I,MSN 3F3
George Mason University,4400 University Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030-4444,PHONE: 703-993-457,FAX: 703-993-1269,
E-mail: mopher@physics.gmu.edu
Ph.D., Physics
& Astronomy, Univ of Sao Paulo, 1998,B.S., Physics, University of Sao Paulo,
1992
Edward C.
Stone.
ecs@srl.caltech.edu
Directory
Information:.
CALTECH, ECS:
220-47,
Pasadena, CA 91125
Downs - 218 (626)395-8321.
Tamas Gombosi
Chair and Professor
Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences
Director
Center for Space Environment Modeling
Professor
Department of Aerospace Engineering
College of Engineering
The University of Michigan
1517 Space Research
Building,Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2143
Email: tamas@umich.edu
Phone: (734) 764-7222,Fax: (734) 615-4645
Funded:
Supported by
NASA / LWS.
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