Voyager 1 crosses the heliopause: first object in interstellar space
Voyager 1 cruza la heliopausa: primer objeto en el espacio interestelar
- Date
- 25 de agosto de 2012 (anunciado en 2013) · confidence medium
- Place
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, United States
- Credited to
- NASA / JPL (Edward Stone and Donald Gurnett)
- Field
- Movement
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What was discovered
Voyager 1 detected a sudden jump in plasma density showing it had left the heliosphere. It is the first human-made object in the interstellar medium; Voyager 2 crossed in 2018.
The date was inferred from plasma oscillations detected months later; the team debated whether it had left in 2012 because the magnetic field did not change direction as expected. 2012 is now accepted, and 2018 for Voyager 2.
What it led to
- direct measurements of interstellar plasma and magnetic field
- plans for missions to the heliosphere's edge (Interstellar Probe)
- debates about the shape of the heliosphere