Sun Is Moving Slower Than Thought

[Sazar]

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...space-science/

Until now, "all the solar system models and theories included a bow shock," said study leader David McComas of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas.

"Having learned for nearly three decades about it, I was literally shocked when we found it was missing."

The absence of a bow shock is significant, McComas said, because it may indicate that the heliosphere is actually more robust than thought.

With less pressure from outside material, the boundary region isn't being compressed and therefore weakened as much as expected, which means it should better repel cosmic rays.

And understanding exactly how the heliosphere acts as a gatekeeper for cosmic rays could help scientists evaluate the chances for life on other worlds.

According to McComas, some researchers believe that the cosmic rays that do get through the heliosphere can impact Earth's climate, because the high-energy particles can ionize—or electrically charge—matter in the atmosphere, leading to heightened cloud formation and lightning generation.

Other experts think the particles could even be related to bursts of evolution or extinction in our planet's history, because the radiation can influence DNA patterns.

Definitely interesting and I am looking forward to more research being conducted on the bolded part as well.

[HiThere]

I'm more interested in the cosmic radiation than the helioshpere, myself. Any natural phenomena that leads to Jessica Alba in spandex should be studied.

[Cowzrul]

How fast is thought?