Space Probe Sees Solar System’s Tail
Thanks to solar wind blowing out from the sun in all directions at a million miles per hour, material from comets gets whipped back into a formation that looks like a tail.
Now, scientists know that our solar system has a tail of its own, with a surprising shape.
NASA researchers working with data from the Interstellar Boundary Explorer announced Wednesday they have for the first time mapped the solar system’s tail, called the heliotail. Their study is published in the Astrophysical Journal.
By “tail,” scientists don’t mean a furry appendage hanging off Pluto, which is not classified as a planet anymore. Rather, the tail is a stream of solar wind plasma — charged particles — and magnetic field, trailing off behind the heliosphere.
The heliosphere is a magnetic bubble that surrounds our solar system, as well as the solar wind and our sun’s magnetic field. This bubble doesn’t stop at the planets — it extends at least 8 billion miles beyond them.