termination shock
Solar wind slows
Termination shock is the boundary where the solar wind—the stream of charged particles flowing outward from the sun—abruptly slows as it meets the interstellar medium.
At this point, roughly 75–90 astronomical units from the sun, the supersonic solar wind drops to subsonic speeds.
The Voyager spacecraft crossed this boundary in 2004 and 2007, confirming its existence.
Beyond lies the heliosheath, then interstellar space.
Sun-dominated space bubble
- solar windContinuous stellar particle emission
- heliopauseSolar system's outermost boundary
- plasmaElectrified matter state
- magnetic fieldForce zone around magnets
cosmic rays · charged particles · solar cycle · deceleration · boundary layer
Vehicle for outer space
- NASAFederal space exploration bureau
- Voyager 1Interstellar NASA spacecraft
- Voyager 2Interstellar NASA spacecraft
- missionPurpose-driven task
deep space · trajectory · communication · telemetry · Pioneer · scientific discovery · space exploration · JPL
Point of beginning
- edgeBoundary or sharpness
- frontierEdge of settlement
- demarcationFormal boundary setting
- transition zoneRegion between differing areas
limit · perimeter · crossing point · interface · margin · outer reaches
heliosphere
Sun-dominated space bubble
- solar windContinuous stellar particle emission
- heliopauseSolar system's outermost boundary
- plasmaElectrified matter state
magnetic field · cosmic rays · charged particles · solar cycle · deceleration · boundary layer
spacecraft
Vehicle for outer space
- NASAFederal space exploration bureau
- Voyager 1Interstellar NASA spacecraft
- Voyager 2Interstellar NASA spacecraft
mission · deep space · trajectory · communication · telemetry · Pioneer · scientific discovery · space exploration · JPL · antenna
threshold
Point of beginning
- edgeBoundary or sharpness
- frontierEdge of settlement
- demarcationFormal boundary setting
transition zone · limit · perimeter · crossing point · interface · margin · outer reaches
- heliosphereheliosphere, heliopause, solar wind, magnetic field lines
- shock wavesblast wave, pressure wave, sonic boom, Mach number, overpressure
- outer edgesedge, border, boundary, perimeter, periphery
- Space Regionsasteroid belt, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, heliosphere, interplanetary space
- cosmic rayscosmic rays, cosmic radiation, solar rays, proton, protons
- stellar anatomycore, corona, chromosphere, photosphere, sunspot
shock, shocking, terminal, determination, terminate, termination, terminated, undetermined, indeterminate