Voyager 1 and 2 encountered a boundary called the heliopause, measuring a ‘wall of fire’ with temperatures between 30,000 and 50,000 kelvin.
The heliopause marks where the Sun’s solar wind pressure balances against the interstellar medium, forming the edge of the heliosphere.
Voyager 1 crossed this boundary in August 2012, and Voyager 2 followed in 2018, at differing distances due to solar activity variations.
The boundary’s distance fluctuates like a ‘breathing’ lung, expanding and contracting with changes in solar wind intensity.
Voyager 2 confirmed Voyager 1’s discovery that the magnetic field outside the heliosphere aligns with the field inside it.
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