Why Voyager 2's discoveries from interstellar space have scientists excited

[Geee]

The Hill

Voyager 2, first launched in 1977, is the second human-made machine to have officially entered interstellar space. Her companion spacecraft, Voyager 1, accomplished the feat in 2013. The data being returned by both spacecraft – having passed beyond the heliosphere, past where solar winds still blow plasma outward from the sun – have scientists excited.

As soon as Voyager 2 left the farthest reaches of the solar wind, the density of plasma actually jumped, according to Phys.org. “The marked increase in plasma density is evidence of Voyager 2 journeying from the hot, lower-density plasma characteristic of the solar wind to the cool, higher-density plasma of interstellar space. It's also similar to the plasma density jump experienced by Voyager 1 when it crossed into interstellar space.”

The information from the boundary between the solar wind and interstellar space is just the latest that the two Voyager spacecraft have imparted. Voyagers 1 and 2 launched in 1977 within 16 days of one another on a mission to explore the outer planets. Voyager 1 flew past Jupiter and Saturn before heading to the outer boundaries of the solar system. Voyager 2 explored Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune before soaring beyond.