New research published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters says that NASA’s Voyager 1 probe became the first man-made object to travel into interstellar space last year.
Debate has broken out after research was shown that the change in direction scientists were waiting for in the solar system’s magnetic field might not be as accurate as once thought and the Voyager 1 has indeed gone into interstellar space, Reuters reports.
“We think that the magnetic field within the solar system and in the interstellar are aligned enough that you can actually pass through without seeing a huge change in direction,” Marc Swisdak, a physicist from the University of Maryland (UMD), said in an interview Aug. 15.
Daily Tech reports that Swisdak and others on the UMD team came up with a model that they believe helps prove their argument that Voyager 1 has indeed left the solar system, despite NASA’s original belief that changes in the magnetic field would be detected.
NASA released a written response that they will consider UMD’s arguments as they look over data from Voyager 1, the Los Angeles Times wrote. “The fine scale magnetic connection model will become part of the discussion among scientists,” Voyager project scientist Ed Stone said.
NASA has long believed that the Voyager 1 would officially be considered in interstellar space once the difference in magnetic fields is noticed by the probe since the fields run in different directions.
image: Wikimedia Commons
