Enigmatic “Ribbon”

After three years of puzzling over a striking “ribbon” of energy and particles discovered by NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) at the edge of our solar system, scientists may be on the verge of cracking the mystery.

 

In a paper published Feb. 4, 2013, in the Astrophysical Journal, researchers, including lead author Nathan Schwadron of the University of New Hampshire, propose a “retention theory” that for the first time explains all the key observations of this astrophysical enigma.

 

“If the theory is correct,” Schwadron notes, “the ribbon can be used to tell us how we’re moving through the magnetic fields of the interstellar medium and how those magnetic fields then influence our space environment.”

 

 

In particular, these strong magnetic fields appear to play a critical role in shaping our heliosphere—the huge bubble that surrounds our solar system and shields us from much of harmful galactic cosmic radiation that fills the galaxy. This may have important ramifications for the history and future of radiation in space, and its impact here on Earth, as the heliosphere changes in response to changing conditions in the interstellar medium or the “space between the stars.”