SPACE AND COSMIC RAY PHYSICS SEMINAR

University of Maryland
Atlantic Building, Room 2400 4:30 PM Monday, March 24, 2008
Coffee, Tea & Snacks 4:15-4:30 PM

John Richardson
MIT

Plasma Observations from Voyager: From Earth to the Heliosheath

Voyager 2 has made observations of the solar wind from launch in 1977 to beyond 85 AU in 2008. In August 2007 it crossed the termination shock, providing the first plasma data near the shock and the first observations of the shock structure. I will discuss the evolution of the solar wind from 1 to 85 AU. Particular attention will be given to the interaction of the solar wind with the interstellar medium and in particular the recent data from near the termination shock and in the heliosheath. Finally I will discuss where Voyager is headed and what it might find next.