Understanding where the solar system ends is vital to understand its expanse. The solar system comprises the sun and all the heavenly bodies that revolve around it, including planets, moons, asteroids, dwarf planets, comets, and many more.
Understanding, trailing, and studying the solar system can be dated far back to the ancient period. However, with the advancement of technology, numerous riddles have been unveiled, and tremendous milestones have been achieved.
Different from a boundary between two countries, creating a border for the solar system is a difficult task, regardless that astronomers and physicists have employed various techniques to achieve it. One of the initial approaches was to use the termination shock, which is the spot where the solar wind (a charged particle stream from the sun) abruptly slows down under pressure from interstellar material.
Next, the heliopause, where the solar wind meets the interstellar medium, forms a boundary. This research leads to the understanding that the vast expanse of space between stars, known as interstellar space, lies beyond the solar system's frontier.
To further get answers, NASA in the 1970s launched the Voyager and Pioneer spacecraft to investigate this area. In 2012, Voyager 1 made history by becoming the first manufactured object to enter interstellar space, followed by Voyager 2 in 2018.
The answer became a must-know after exploring beyond the bounds of our solar system with the help of Voyager 1, Voyager 2, and some other missions. 489
Nonetheless, a conclusive answer is yet to be ascertained. The boundary of our solar system continues to be a topic of scientific debate. Some scientists suggest that Planet Nine may be the possible endpoint.
The Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft launched by NASA in 1977 are presently the farthest artificial objects from Earth. These two spacecraft have already passed through the heliopause and have supplied important information regarding interstellar space outside our solar system.
They explore the heliosheath, where the sun's magnetic field interacts with the interstellar medium. However, it should be noted that heliopause is not technically the end of the solar system, as gravity can extend infinitely into space. Nevertheless, the heliopause is the widely accepted boundary of the solar system, beyond which the sun's effect on its environment becomes minimal.
In summary, the solar system does not have a distinct boundary but a gradual transition where the influence of the sun's gravity decreases. While heliopause is widely acknowledged as the solar system's boundary, its impact persists beyond that point, albeit significantly weakened.
It's important to note that the solar system's limits are flexible and well-defined, and scientists are constantly exploring and discovering new information about the boundaries of our solar system. 489