It is generally accepted that there is nothing in space except vacuum, cold and the endless emptiness of distant, distant galaxies. However, this is not quite true. Of course, life is not boiling in space, but there are many interesting processes taking place there. The same cosmic radiation causes a lot of interesting processes. For example, did you know that there is pressure in space? Moreover, scientists can even measure it, which they have been doing for a long time. Only some time ago, the pressure on the border of our solar system began to grow. But how is this possible?
Where does pressure come from in space?
This is a pretty good question, because if we recall the physics course, then on our planet atmospheric pressure is created by air molecules and other particles attracted by gravity. An important role in the formation of pressure is played by the presence of the atmosphere and the height at which we measure it from the surface. The higher - the less it is. In space, as you can imagine, there is almost none of this. Therefore, the pressure there is formed somewhat differently.
In general, "cosmic pressure" is created by ions, electrons and other elementary particles. These particles, heated and accelerated by the Sun, create the heliosphere. The heliosphere is, in simple terms, a giant ball in which "suspended" particles tend to move from the center to the periphery. The edge of this region, where the Sun's influence is overcome by the pressure of particles from other stars and interstellar space, is where the Sun's magnetic influence ends. This is where the pressure difference is created. And it can be measured. Using data from NASA's Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft, scientists calculated the total particle pressure in the outer solar system.
A schematic representation of how Voyagers took measurements.
It is known that the heliosphere is located at a distance of almost 9 billion miles (which is about 14.5 billion kilometers) from the center of the solar system. Therefore, the study of this area is rather difficult. Studying the pressure and speed of sound in this region at the edge of the solar system, according to scientists, can help us understand how the sun affects interstellar space. This not only informs us about our own solar system, but also about the dynamics and evolution of other stars and planetary systems.
Vladimir Kuznetsov
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