The outer solar system (as opposed to the outer planets) is that part of the Solar System which begins at roughly the orbit of Neptune and terminates at maximum orbit distance, approximately one Light Year from the sun in terms of orbital measurements. The environment of the whole solar system is also composed of the Solar Wind which, in this outermost region of the solar system, is the heliopause where the Solar Wind meets the Interstellar Medium- especially the Local Interstellar Medium, aka LISM. Presentation of the solar system (not to scale) The solar system comprises the Earths Sun and the retinue of celestial objects gravitationally bound to it. ... Adjective Neptunian Atmospheric characteristics Surface pressure ≫100 MPa Hydrogen - H2 80% ±3. ... A light year, abbreviated ly, is the distance light travels in one year: roughly 9. ... The plasma in the Solar Wind meeting the heliopause Ion storm redirects here. ... The heliopause is the boundary between the heliosphere and the interstellar medium outside the solar system. ... The plasma in the Solar Wind meeting the heliopause Ion storm redirects here. ... The distribution of ionized hydrogen (known by astronomers as H II (aitch two) from old spectroscopic terminology) in the parts of the Galactic interstellar medium visible from the Earths northern hemisphere (from the Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper Survey) In astronomy, the interstellar medium (or ISM) is the matter and...

Artist's rendering of the Kuiper Belt and more distant Oort cloud.

Size comparison between Earth's Moon (Luna) and several large TNOs

The heliopause is the boundary between the heliosphere and the interstellar medium outside the solar system. As the solar wind approaches the heliopause, it slows suddenly, forming a shock wave.

Voyager 1 is in the heliosheath

Image File history File links Kuiper_oort. ... Image File history File links Kuiper_oort. ... This image is an artists rendering of the Oort cloud and the Kuiper Belt. ... Image File history File links Created using a program written by Nicholas Shanks. ... Image File history File links Created using a program written by Nicholas Shanks. ... Source: http://helios. ... Source: http://helios. ... The heliosphere is a bubble in space produced by the solar wind. ... The distribution of ionized hydrogen (known by astronomers as H II (aitch two) from old spectroscopic terminology) in the parts of the Galactic interstellar medium visible from the Earths northern hemisphere (from the Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper Survey) In astronomy, the interstellar medium (or ISM) is the matter and... Presentation of the solar system (not to scale) The solar system comprises the Earths Sun and the retinue of celestial objects gravitationally bound to it. ... In fluid dynamics, a shock wave is a nonlinear or discontinuous pressure wave. ... Download high resolution version (2500x1687, 1789 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Heliopause Voyager 1 Voyager program Heliosheath Termination shock Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates Bow shock Heliosphere Image:Heliosphere drawing. ... Download high resolution version (2500x1687, 1789 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Heliopause Voyager 1 Voyager program Heliosheath Termination shock Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates Bow shock Heliosphere Image:Heliosphere drawing. ... The locations of Voyagers 1 and 2 as of 2005 The heliosheath is the zone between the termination shock and the heliopause at the outer border of the solar system. ...

Contents and Structure

The main contents of the outer solar system are probably very numerous small bodies akin to comets from one or another population, and the place where the Solar Wind meets the Interstellar Medium. The plasma in the Solar Wind meeting the heliopause Ion storm redirects here. ... The distribution of ionized hydrogen (known by astronomers as H II (aitch two) from old spectroscopic terminology) in the parts of the Galactic interstellar medium visible from the Earths northern hemisphere (from the Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper Survey) In astronomy, the interstellar medium (or ISM) is the matter and...

Of the bodies that orbit The Sun, major constituents include the Kuiper Belt, or scattered disk objects, trans-Neptunian objects (aka TNOs) and the unconfirmed Oort Cloud. Work by Michael E. Brown's team has brought many recent discoveries in this area. From whichever population source, Comets frequently originate within the area, their potential orbits being disturbed by either Nemesis or system-wide oscillations across the galactic plane, according to two competing theories. Each population has some quality to distinguish them. Specific to Comets are some comet families (comets that originated in the breakup of a parent body) like the Kreutz Sungrazers among others which will also have some relationship with the Outer Solar System. The Sun is the star at the center of our Solar system. ... Artists rendering of the Kuiper Belt and more distant Oort cloud. ... The scattered disc (or scattered disk) is a distant region of our solar system, thinly populated by icy planetoids known as scattered disk objects (SDOs), a subset of the broader family of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). ... A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the solar system with all or most of its orbit beyond that of Neptune. ... This image is an artists rendering of the Oort cloud and the Kuiper Belt. ... Dr. Michael (Mike) E. Brown has been an associate professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) since 2002. ... Comet Hale-Bopp, showing a white dust tail and blue gas tail (February 1997) A comet is a small astronomical object similar to an asteroid but composed largely of ice. ... Nemesis is the name given to a hypothetical red dwarf star or brown dwarf, orbiting the Sun at a distance of about 50,000 to 100,000 AU, somewhat beyond the Oort cloud. ... The galactic plane is the plane in which the majority of a flattened galaxys mass lies. ... SOHO spots a Kreutz Sungrazer with a prominent tail, plunging towards the Sun The Kreutz Sungrazers are a family of comets characterized by orbits taking them extremely close to the Sun at perihelion. ...

The Solar Wind, having passed though the inner regions of the Solar System undergoes its most radical transformation as it encounters the Interstellar Medium. A complex structure no doubt exists. Among the implications of the Heliosphere is the 22 yr sunspot cycle of the Sun which represents high and low flow periods (in addition to the smaller oscillations caused by coronal mass ejections which would continue to propagate out as part of the Solar Wind). Another strong factor is the condition, movement and density of the Interstellar Medium which could radically change the extent and functions of the Heliosphere. Among the functions of the heliopause is to generally deflect cosmic rays, possibly originate some cosmic rays, and generally divert the charged, and to a lesser extent the neutral, components of the interstellar medium. The plasma in the Solar Wind meeting the heliopause Ion storm redirects here. ... Presentation of the solar system (not to scale) The solar system comprises the Earths Sun and the retinue of celestial objects gravitationally bound to it. ... The distribution of ionized hydrogen (known by astronomers as H II (aitch two) from old spectroscopic terminology) in the parts of the Galactic interstellar medium visible from the Earths northern hemisphere (from the Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper Survey) In astronomy, the interstellar medium (or ISM) is the matter and... 400 year sunspot history A sunspot is a region on the Suns surface (photosphere) that is marked by a lower temperature than its surroundings, and intense magnetic activity. ... A solar coronal mass ejection blasts plasma throughout the Solar System. ...

The orbiting objects, the diffuse environment they move through, and temporary influences from beyond, do interact.

The Voyager and Pioneer space probes are traveling through this region over these decades. Only one object of the Solar System so far is probable to travel back and forth over the heliopause - 90377 Sedna. Several objects the size of Pluto are known and it is possible larger bodies exist in this outer region. Other objects may well exist that cross the heliopause as well, and already known objects might be identified to cross it as well once it's structure is more certain (there should be a large asymmetry in the shape of the heliopause - a tail should point down-wind with the flow of the Interstellar Medium for a very long distance but probably still less than 1 LY but the specific geometry hasn't been identified yet.) Neutral components of the interstellar medium are largely unaffected by the encounter with the Solar Wind until they reach the Inner Solar System, roughly equivalent to the inner planets aka terrestrial planets and Sun outward to the asteroid belt where the Sun's light is sufficient to cause ionization. Thus in a sense there are two kinds of "winds" in the outer solar system - a charged and magnetized particle and EM field emanating from the sun and undergoing changes in flow as it reaches the outer solar system, and a neutral expanse of gas and dust from the interstellar medium blowing across the whole solar system. Other members of this region are micrometeorites and cosmic rays. Some cosmic rays may originate with the bow shockwave. The Voyager spacecraft Launch of Voyager 2 Voyager is also the name of a planned series of unmanned probes to Mars, cancelled in 1968. ... The American Pioneer program of unmanned space missions was designed for planetary exploration. ... Presentation of the solar system (not to scale) The solar system comprises the Earths Sun and the retinue of celestial objects gravitationally bound to it. ... The heliopause is the boundary between the heliosphere and the interstellar medium outside the solar system. ... 90377 Sedna is a trans-Neptunian object, discovered by Michael Brown (Caltech), Chad Trujillo (Gemini Observatory) and David Rabinowitz (Yale University) on November 14, 2003. ... The plasma in the Solar Wind meeting the heliopause Ion storm redirects here. ... In the solar system the inner planets are the solid planets nearest the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. ... A terrestrial planet or telluric planet is a planet which is primarily composed of silicate rocks. ... The Sun is the star at the center of our Solar system. ... Image of the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. ... The Sun is the star at the center of our Solar system. ... ... EM, Em or em has several meanings: Scientific Effective Microorganisms or EM-Technology by Dr. Teruo Higa. ... Cosmic rays can loosely be defined as energetic particles originating outside of the Earth. ... Cosmic rays can loosely be defined as energetic particles originating outside of the Earth. ...

Influence and Evolution

It has been proposed that the Gas giant planets evolved in direct relation to the outer solar system; that the former's orbits significantly changed by interactions with planetesimals and comets from the latter (many of these objects being scattered back into the outer solar system.) Concordantly, the evolution of the outer solar system appears to have been influenced by nearby supernovae and possibly also passage through interstellar dust clouds. The surfaces of bodies in the outer solar system, would experience space weathering from the Solar Wind, micrometeorites, as well as the neutral components of the interstellar medium, and more momentary influences like supernovae and magnetar eruptions (also called starquakes). Sarah K. Noble (http://www.planetary.brown.edu/~noble/Myresearch.html) and Beth E. Clark (http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/EISclark.html and http://baritone.tn.cornell.edu/~beth/) are among those doing research in space weathering or space erosion though specific implications for the outer solar system aren't yet quantified. A gas giant is a large planet that is not composed mostly of rock or other solid matter. ... ÈàÌàìòòIn cosmogony, planetesimals are objects thought to exist within solar nebulae. ... Comet Hale-Bopp, showing a white dust tail and blue gas tail (February 1997) A comet is a small astronomical object similar to an asteroid but composed largely of ice. ... Multiwavelength X-ray image of the remnant of Keplers Supernova, SN 1604. ... The plasma in the Solar Wind meeting the heliopause Ion storm redirects here. ... The distribution of ionized hydrogen (known by astronomers as H II (aitch two) from old spectroscopic terminology) in the parts of the Galactic interstellar medium visible from the Earths northern hemisphere (from the Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper Survey) In astronomy, the interstellar medium (or ISM) is the matter and... Remnant of Keplers Supernova, SN 1604. ... Artists conception of a magnetar, with magnetic field lines A magnetar is a neutron star with an extremely strong magnetic field, the decay of which powers the emission of copious amounts of high-energy electromagnetic radiation, particularly X-rays and gamma-rays. ...

Scale

The outer solar system measures on a scale straddling that of interstellar and sub-interstellar distance. Given this special position, there could exist some adjustments or calibrations to astrophysical theory pending its further exploration. For example, gravity is well known in the sub-interstellar distance scale by practical navigation of unmanned space missions, orbital analysis of low-energy transport, harmonics in planetary rings, and LaGrangian solutions. Interstellar understandings of gravity, however, depend largely on the math of gravity and observation of distant star systems. For example, there could be structure to both the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud. Discrepancies to be resolved include the Pioneer anomaly, and sub-galactic effects of Dark Matter, and Dark Energy. Spiral Galaxy ESO 269-57 Astrophysics is the tree of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties (luminosity, density, temperature and chemical composition) of astronomical objects such as stars, galaxies, and the interstellar medium, as well as their interactions. ... It has been suggested that gravitation be merged into this article or section. ... Unmanned space missions are those using remote-controlled spacecraft. ... In acoustics and telecommunication, the harmonic of a wave is a component frequency of the signal that is an integral multiple of the fundamental frequency. ... A planetary ring is a ring of dust and other small particles orbiting around a planet in a flat disc-shaped region. ... The Lagrangian points (IPA: ; also Lagrange point, L-point, or libration point), are the five positions in interplanetary space where a small object affected only by gravity can theoretically be stationary relative to two larger objects (such as a satellite with respect to the Earth and Moon). ... A Superconductor demonstrating the Meissner Effect Physics (from the Greek, φυσικός (physikos), natural, and φύσις (physis), nature) is the science of the natural world dealing with the fundamental constituents of the universe, the forces they exert on one another, and the results produced by these forces. ... The Pioneer anomaly or Pioneer effect refers to the observed deviation from expectations of the trajectories of various unmanned spacecraft visiting the outer Solar system, notably Pioneer 10 and 11. ... // This refers to the cosmological use of the term. ... In cosmology, dark energy is a hypothetical form of energy which permeates all of space and has strong negative pressure. ...

See also

• Voyager program
• Pioneer program
• New Horizons