The Fermi glow consists of ultraviolet-glowing2 particles, mostly hydrogen,3 originating from the Solar System's bow shock, created when light from stars and the Sun enter the region between the heliopause and the interstellar medium4 and undergo Fermi acceleration,3 bouncing around the transition area several times, gaining energy via collisions with atoms of the interstellar medium. The first evidence of the Fermi glow, and hence the bow shock, was obtained with the help from Voyager 124 and the Hubble Space Telescope.24
In 2012, data collected from the Interstellar Boundary Explorer satellite and Voyager 1 and 2 indicated that the Sun isn't moving fast enough through its current interstellar environment to have a bow shock.5
References
References
- information@eso.org. "The Heliosphere is Tilted - implications for the 'Galactic weather forecast'?". www.spacetelescope.org. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
- "The Heliosphere is Tilted - implications for the 'Galactic weather forecast'?". SpaceTelescope.org. 13 March 2000. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- Hellemans, Alexander (20 March 2000). "Where the Solar Wind Hits the Wall". Science Magazine. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- "A Glowing Discovery at the Forefront of Our Plunge Through Space Archived 2001-01-11 at the Wayback Machine". SPACE.com. 15 March 2000.
- "New Interstellar Boundary Explorer data show heliosphere's long-theorized bow shock does not exist", Phys.org, May 10, 2012, retrieved 2012-02-11