Re:‘Voyager on steroids.’ Mission would probe region beyond ...
by Archelaos on Friday July 29, 2022 @07:52PM
(#32282989)
> > If it is denser, it would squash the protective magnetic bubble of the heliosphere, potentially exposing the Solar System to a barrage of cosmic rays.
That seems highly exaggerated. The Wikipedia article you mentioned is more sober:
> The Local Interstellar Cloud's potential effects on Earth are greatly diminished by the solar wind and the Sun's magnetic field.
A change in the density of the near interstellar medium would shift the heliopause, but it would require a massive increase in density to move it from where the Voyager probes are now to somewhere close to the inner solar system where it could have a noticeable impact.
That seems highly exaggerated. The Wikipedia article you mentioned is more sober:
> The Local Interstellar Cloud's potential effects on Earth are greatly diminished by the solar wind and the Sun's magnetic field.
A change in the density of the near interstellar medium would shift the heliopause, but it would require a massive increase in density to move it from where the Voyager probes are now to somewhere close to the inner solar system where it could have a noticeable impact.