Matthew Hill
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Voyager 1 Observations of Large Galactic Cosmic Ray Anisotropies in Interstellar Space
Voyager 1 entered a local region of the interstellar medium in August of 2012 as evidenced by the observed galactic cosmic ray intensity increases and spectral unfolding, the disappearance of particles of solar origin, and the plasma-wave based detection of high density plasma thought to be consistent only with cold interstellar plasma. This region, however, is not pristine and appears to be significantly influenced by the heliosphere; the magnetic field is still Parker-like and there are unprecedentedly large, varying anisotropies in the galactic cosmic ray intensities. I will focus on the galactic cosmic ray observations we have made with the Low Energy Charged Particle (LECP) experiment but will also discuss a physical explanation for the anisotropies being put forth by the LECP team.