Voyager 1 Has Left The Solar System….. Probably. Maybe. We Think
Honestly it’s like the space scientist equivalent of watching Lindsey Lohan. Has it left? When did it leave? Is it still here? Is it long gone? I can’t stop obsessing about this news. It appears Voyager 1 left the solar system quit some time ago (around April), IF plasma density is to be believed. The heart of the problem is plasma density isn’t constant. Quite understandably plasma is hotter nearer the sun, which means it is less dense. Therefore the calculations were all wrong and Voyager 1 is outta here already. Or maybe. Who knows? I don’t completely understand it, to be honest.
All I know is that I simply can NOT get enough of this story. This is great, nail biting science going on here. It’s like assessing the effects of the no strikes touch down rule in the NHL (or some such controversial sports rule analogy that I neither know anything about nor understand).