Superheated Plasma

Recently, in a landmark discovery, NASA’s Voyager 1 detected a superheated shell of plasma beyond Pluto—revealing a fiery boundary at the edge of the solar system.

What did Voyager 1 find?

• Voyager 1 detected a narrow shell of superheated plasma near the heliopause, far beyond Pluto.
• The plasma was recorded at temperatures between 30,000 and 50,000 Kelvin.
• This region marks where the Sun’s influence ends and interstellar space begins.

Why is it hot where there's no flame?

• Space has no oxygen, so nothing burns like a flame.
• The heat comes from the Sun’s solar wind crashing into interstellar gas.
• These high-speed collisions compress and ....