Termination Shock Image for Voyager 1 and Outer Solar System

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Audience/Grade:	College Freshman - Continuing Education
Discipline(s):	Aerospace Engineering
Special Topic(s):	History of Technology
Learning Resource Type:	Reference - Visuals
Media Type:	Image
Author(s):	Nancy Neal Organization: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Description:	Image of estimated location of the termination shock, "where the solar wind, a thin stream of electrically charged gas blown constantly from the Sun, is slowed by pressure from gas between the stars. At the termination shock, the solar wind slows abruptly from its average speed of 300 - 700 km per second (700,000 - 1,500,000 mph). (Refer to Movie 4 to see how this heats the solar wind in the heliosheath). The exact location of the termination shock is unknown, and it originally was thought to be closer to the Sun than Voyager 1 currently is. As Voyager 1 cruised ever farther from the Sun, it confirmed that all the planets were inside an immense bubble blown by the solar wind, and the termination shock was much more distant.
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Related Resources
Is Component of	Voyager Spacecraft Approaching Solar Systems's Final Frontier
Referenced By	Voyager - Misson to the Outer Planets


Usage Tip
Use of Resource:	The NASA site also has a simulation video.
Difficulty:	Medium
Interactivity Level:	Very Low