IBEX Data Proves Heliosphere Lacks Bow Shock

Contrary to popular theory, the giant magnetic bubble around our sun probably does not create a shock wave as it travels through space, according to new observations from NASA.

The heliosphere is the region of space dominated by the Sun that cocoons Earth and the other planets. Inflated by the million-mile-per-hour solar wind, the bubble-shaped heliosphere pushes its way through the galaxy. For a quarter century, researchers believed a bow “shock” formed ahead of the heliosphere as it moved through interstellar space — similar to the sonic boom made by a jet breaking the sound barrier. New data from NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) shows that the heliosphere moves through space too slowly to form a bow shock. Southwest Research Institute