For a while, it looked like Voyager 1 might have hit another milestone in space exploration - interstellar space - but a revised outlook states there's still some ways to go. The probe, launched by NASA back in 1977, is indeed still in our solar system, NASA has stated.
The confusion all started when the American Geophysical Union sent out a release on Wednesday proclaiming that Voyager 1 has entered interstellar space. NASA was quick to debunk the rumor with a statement of its own.
"The Voyager team is aware of reports today that NASA's Voyager 1 has left the solar system. It is the consensus of the Voyager science team that Voyager 1 has not yet left the solar system or reached interstellar space," said Edward Stone, a scientist on the Voyager project.
"In December 2012, the Voyager science team reported that Voyager 1 is within a new region called 'the magnetic highway' where energetic particles changed dramatically. A change in the direction of the magnetic field is the last critical indicator of reaching interstellar space and that change of direction has not yet been observed."
The American Geophysical Union has since sent out a new, more accurate release titled, "Voyager 1 has entered a new region of space" (changed from "Voyager 1 has left the solar system").
Part of the reason for the mix up stems from a report from Aug. 25 of last year. A shift in cosmic rays was detected by Voyager 1, and the subsequent study showed that the spacecraft was entering the "heliocliff." What Stone and NASA are stressing is that a shift in the magnetic fields is the most important indicator that Voyager 1 has left the solar system, not cosmic rays.
Voyager 1 is currently in the "heliosheath," and while the probe still has some some distance to cover before interstellar space, at a speed of 38,000 miles per hour, it's making some decent headway.
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