Magnetic Bubbles Detected at Edge of Solar System

     The latest data from the twin Voyager spacecrafts suggest the outer edge of the solar system is not smooth but filled with giant magnetic bubbles.  Scientists say the turbulent bubbles are the result of the interaction between the Sun’s magnetic field and material expelled from other stars in the galaxy¹.

    If you could see the bubbles contained in the invisible magnetic field, scientists say they would look like giant sausages, approximately 160 million kilometers across.

    Detected by an instrument on board the Voyager space probes that measures energetic particles, scientists say the bubbles are formed when the so-called solar wind, a stream of charged particles from the Sun, trails outward to the edge of the solar system and twists as a result of the Sun’s rotation², interacting with material from stars on the other side of the divide.

    Using a new computer model to analyze³ the data, astronomers⁵ say the solar magnetic field is broken up at the boundary with intergalactic space into the turbulent, bubble-like structures.

    Astronomer⁴ James Drake of the University of Maryland likened the foamy⁶ bubbles to water coming out of the jets of a Jacuzzi tub.

    “Those jets are very bubbly," said Drake. "Well, this thing is very bubbly.  Like the most bubbly parts of your Jacuzzi.  So, it’s very bubbly indeed as far as we can tell.”

    But experts say the Sun’s magnetic field is very weak at the edge of the solar system and the bubbles are not so turbulent as to disrupt the Voyager spacecrafts which entered the final layer of the solar system, called the heliosphere, in 2007 and 2008.

    Launched in 1977, the 33-year-old space probes are now more than 14 billion kilometers from home, traveling a distance of approximately 450 million kilometers per year at different locations inside the heliosheath, the outer ring of the immense magnetic bubble in the solar system created by the Sun’s magnetic field.

    NASA scientists say the twin space probes, the most distant observatories⁷ operated by the space agency, are good for at least another five years.

    Boston University astronomer Merav Opher says scientists are now trying to figure out what’s on the other side of the heliopause, the boundary between our solar system and intergalactic space.

    “This is a complete new area," said Opher. "We have never been near the heliopause before.  And now it will be complicated because you have an interspace full of your bubbles and you are going towards the other side.  So how this interface⁸ will be we don’t really know.”

    The article describing the discovery of magnetic space bubbles by the Viking spacecrafts is published this week in the Astrophysical Journal.

1 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

2 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。

3 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

4 astronomer   

n.天文学家

参考例句：

• A new star attracted the notice of the astronomer.新发现的一颗星引起了那位天文学家的注意。
• He is reputed to have been a good astronomer.他以一个优秀的天文学者闻名于世。

5 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 foamy   

adj.全是泡沫的，泡沫的，起泡沫的

参考例句：

• In Internet foamy 2001, so hard when, everybody stayed. 在互联网泡沫的2001年，那么艰难的时候，大家都留下来了。 来自互联网
• It's foamy milk that you add to the coffee. 将牛奶打出泡沫后加入咖啡中。 来自互联网

7 observatories   

n.天文台，气象台( observatory的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• John Heilbron, The Sun in the Church: Cathedrals as Solar Observatories, 3-23. 约翰．海耳布隆，《教会里的太阳：教堂即太阳观测台》，第3-23页。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists use satellites, land observatories and historical data to provide information about the weather. 气象学家使用卫星、上天文台和历史资料来提供有关天气的信息。 来自互联网

8 interface   

n.接合部位，分界面；v.(使)互相联系

参考例句：

• My computer has a network interface,which allows me to get to other computers.我的计算机有网络接口可以与其它计算机连在一起。
• This program has perspicuous interface and extensive application. 该程序界面明了，适用范围广。