We Have The First-Ever 3D Map of Our Solar System's Heliosphere, And It's Amazing - ScienceAlert

For the first time, astronomers have been able to determine the shape of the heliosphere, the boundary that marks the end of the influence of our star's solar wind.

This discovery could help us better understand the environment of the Solar System, and how it interacts with interstellar space.

Eventually, the solar wind loses strength over distance, so that it is no longer sufficient to push against the pressure of interstellar space.

The shape of the boundary between the two has been a matter of some debate?

Reisenfeld and his team used data from NASA's Earth-orbiting Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) satellite, an observatory that measures particles flung from the heliosheath, the very outer region of the heliosphere.

These are generated by collisions between particles from the solar wind and particles from the interstellar wind, and the strength of their signal depends on the strength of the solar wind at the time of the collision - just like the wind on Earth, the solar wind doesn't always blow at the same intensity.

"The solar wind 'signal' sent out by the Sun varies in strength, forming a unique pattern," explained Reisenfeld.