New Horizons finds solar wind slows due to interstellar mixing
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft just found that the solar wind, the stream of charged particles from our Sun, slows down as it reaches the outer edge of our solar system, where the Sun's influence starts to fade.
This slowdown happens because material from outside our solar system is mixing in, making things more complicated than scientists expected.
New Horizons data inform mission planning
Between 30 and 58 times farther from the Sun than Earth, New Horizons measured a 5% to 15% drop in solar wind speed.
This info helps scientists plan safer interstellar missions and prepare for tricky stuff like cosmic rays and termination shock, a kind of space speed bump for spacecraft.
The findings also build on what Voyager 1 and 2 discovered when they left the heliosphere years ago, giving us a clearer picture of what lies beyond our cosmic neighborhood.