December 27, 2009

Voyager has apparently found why there's a glowing inferno around the Solar System



So I was unaware of this, but apparently the Solar System is going through the interstellar cloud known as "The Local Fluff" but it's like really hot and dangerous. Not something you want Earth floating around in. Luckily though, the Sun's magnetic field keeps that away from the planets in the inner solar system.

For a while now sciencetists were like "why are we surrounded by this crazy ball of gas" when the law of physics says we shouldn't be surround by this crazy ball of gas. Well the eight-track playing Voyager probe has found out why...

Using data from Voyager, we have discovered a strong magnetic field just outside the solar system. This magnetic field holds the interstellar cloud together—"The Fluff"—and solves the long-standing puzzle of how it can exist at all.

The Fluff is much more strongly magnetized than anyone had previously suspected. This magnetic field can provide the extra pressure required to resist destruction.

The Voyagers are not actually inside the Local Fluff. But they are getting close and can sense what the cloud is like as they approach it.

So... does that mean I can't take Pop Tarts into space or are we still cool?

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