Oleg Zabluda's blog
Monday, June 18, 2012
 
Voyager 1 is crossing the boundaries of our solar system [OZ: False] into interstellar space [OZ: True].
Voyager 1 is crossing the boundaries of our solar system [OZ: False] into interstellar space [OZ: True].

We are bombarded by these articles every week,  even from respected sources, like space.com or universetoday.com, but this is just wrong and infuriating to boot.

It's true that Voyager 1/2 (and Pioneer-11) are entering interstellar space (by leaving heliosphere) around measly 100 AU, which took them ~30 years to reach, but they are nowhere near the boundaries of the Solar System, which ends with Oort cloud, stretching to about 1/3 distance to nearby stars, about a light-year, or 50,000 AU.  They are not even past the aphelion of Sedna (~1000 AU). for crying out loud. Jeez.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliosphere
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliosphere

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