Heliosphere

Top: Diagram of the heliosphere as it travels through the interstellar medium: Termination shock: the solar wind collides for the first time with the interstellar medium, slows down and changes direction. Heliosheath: the outer region of the heliosphere; the solar wind is compressed and turbulent Heliopause: the boundary between solar wind and interstellar wind where they are in equilibrium. Bow shock: the shock wave caused by the heliosphere in the direction it travels. (Might not exist.) Middle: water running into a sink as an analogy for the heliosphere and its different zones (left) and Voyager measuring a drop of the solar wind's high-energy particles at the termination shock (right) Bottom: Logarithmic scale of the Solar System and Voyager's position

The heliosphere is the bubble-like region of space dominated by the Sun, which extends far beyond the orbit of Pluto. Plasma "blown" out from the Sun, known as the solar wind, creates and maintains this bubble against the outside pressure of the interstellar medium, the hydrogen and helium gas that permeates the Milky Way Galaxy. The solar wind flows outward from the Sun until encountering the termination shock, where motion slows abruptly. The Voyager spacecraft have actively explored the outer reaches of the heliosphere, passing through the shock and entering the heliosheath, a transitional region which is in turn bounded by the outermost edge of the heliosphere, called the heliopause. The overall shape of the heliosphere is controlled by the interstellar medium through which it is traveling, as well as the Sun, and is not perfectly spherical. The limited data available and unexplored nature of these structures have resulted in many theories.

On September 12, 2013, NASA announced that Voyager 1 had exited the heliosphere on August 25, 2012, when it measured a sudden increase in plasma density of about forty times. Because the heliopause marks one boundary between the Sun's solar wind and the rest of the galaxy, a spacecraft such as Voyager 1 which has departed the heliosphere can be said to have reached interstellar space.

Except for localized regions near obstacles such as planets or comets, the heliosphere is dominated by material emanating from the Sun, although cosmic rays, fast-moving neutral atoms, and cosmic dust can penetrate the heliosphere from the outside. Originating at the extremely hot surface of the corona, solar wind particles reach escape velocity, streaming outwards at 300 to 800 km/s (671 thousand to 1.79 million mph or 1 to 2.9 million km/h). As it begins to interact with the interstellar medium, its velocity slows before finally stopping altogether. The point where the solar wind becomes slower than the speed of sound is called the termination shock; the solar wind continues to slow as it passes through the heliosheath leading to a boundary called the heliopause, where the interstellar medium and solar wind pressures balance. The termination shock was traversed by Voyager 1 in 2004, and Voyager 2 in 2007.

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