Alien Matter in the Solar System: A Galactic Mismatch
Feb. 10, 2012: This just in: The Solar System is different from the space just outside it.
Researchers announced the finding at a press conference on Jan. 31, 2012. It’s based on data from NASA’s IBEX spacecraft, which is able to sample material flowing into the solar system from interstellar space.
“We’ve detected alien matter that came into our solar system from other parts of the galaxy--and, chemically speaking, it’s not exactly like what we find here at home.” says David McComas the principal investigator for IBEX at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas.
Our solar system is surrounded by the heliosphere, a magnetic bubble that separates us from the rest of the Milky Way. Outside the heliosphere lies the realm of the stars or “interstellar space”; inside lies the sun and all the planets. The sun blows this vast magnetic bubble using the solar wind to inflate the sun’s own magnetic field. It’s a good thing: The heliosphere helps protect us from cosmic rays that would otherwise penetrate the solar system.
Launched in 2008, the IBEX spacecraft spins in Earth orbit scanning the entire sky. IBEX’s special trick is detecting neutral atoms that slip through the heliosphere’s magnetic defenses. Without actually exiting the solar system, IBEX is able to sample the galaxy outside.
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/10feb_alienmatter/
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