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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Mystery Space "Ribbon" Found at Solar System's Edge


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The first full-sky map of solar system's edge has revealed a bright ribbon of uncharged atoms roughly two billion miles (three billion kilometers) long, as seen in data from NASA's IBEX orbiter.

The ribbon might mark the spot where the galaxy's magnetic field is squeezing the protective bubble that surrounds our solar system, an October 2009 study says.

Picture courtesy Southwest Research Institute