Voyager Approaching Interstellar Space

NASA's web site has a feature about Voyager entering what is know as the heliosheath. Just as our atmosphere has different layers, so too does the solar system.

"In November 2003, the Voyager team announced it was seeing events unlike any encountered before in the mission's then 26-year history. The team believed the unusual events indicated Voyager 1 was approaching a strange region of space, likely the beginning of this new frontier called the termination shock region. There was controversy at that time over whether Voyager 1 had indeed encountered the termination shock or was just getting close."

The termination shock region is the area where the solar winds are slowed down by pressure from gas between the stars. As it slows down, the density of particles from the solar winds builds up. One result of this build up is an increase in the strength of the magnetic field.

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