NASA: Our Solar System Has A "Tail"
CAPE CANAVERAL (CBS4/AP) – Space enthusiasts are excited about new images from NASA showing our solar system has a tail similar to comets.
Scientists revealed images Wednesday showing the tail emanating from the bullet-shaped region of space under the grip of the sun, including the solar system and beyond. The region is known as the heliosphere, thus the name heliotail.
To see the images click here.
The findings are based on data from by NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX. The Earth-orbiting spacecraft was launched in 2008.
Scientists always presumed the heliosphere had a tail, but this provides the first real data on the shape.
Chief IBEX investigator David McComas, who's with the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, says it's difficult to calculate the length of the heliotail. But the evaporating end of the tail could stretch 100 billion miles.
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