The Naked Scientists
Toggle navigation
Login
Register
Podcasts
The Naked Scientists
eLife
Naked Genetics
Naked Astronomy
In short
Naked Neuroscience
Ask! The Naked Scientists
Question of the Week
Archive
Video
SUBSCRIBE to our Podcasts
Articles
Science News
Features
Interviews
Answers to Science Questions
Get Naked
Donate
Do an Experiment
Science Forum
Ask a Question
About
Meet the team
Our Sponsors
Site Map
Contact us
User menu
Login
Register
Search
Home
Help
Search
Tags
Recent Topics
Login
Register
Naked Science Forum
Non Life Sciences
Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology
Where is the edge of our solar system?
« previous
next »
Print
Pages: [
1
]
Go Down
Where is the edge of our solar system?
7 Replies
7247 Views
0 Tags
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
paul.fr
Guest
Where is the edge of our solar system?
«
on:
12/06/2007 19:22:35 »
Is it clearly defined, like terrestrial maps of towns/city/distracts or borders?
«
Last Edit: 17/06/2007 13:07:21 by chris
»
Logged
Marked as best answer by
on 19/05/2025 19:27:38
DoctorBeaver
Naked Science Forum GOD!
12653
Activity:
0%
Thanked: 4 times
A stitch in time would have confused Einstein.
Undo Best Answer
where is the edge of our solar system?
«
Reply #1 on:
12/06/2007 19:27:23 »
That's a good point; and it depends how you define "solar system". It could be said that the outermost planetary orbit defines the boundary, but that doesn't allow for comets.
Personally, I think the Oort cloud should be taken as the boundary, The objects there are still bound by our sun's gravity. Once past there, though, our sun has very little effect and you truly are into the realm of interstellar space.
Logged
daveshorts
Moderator
Naked Science Forum King!
2568
Activity:
0%
Thanked: 1 times
Physics, Experiments
where is the edge of our solar system?
«
Reply #2 on:
12/06/2007 23:06:02 »
I think there is a definition involving how far out the solar wind gets. So basically how far out all the high energy protons etc are travelling away from the sun and not in what ever direction the local galactic wind is blowing in. I think that one of the voyager probes has gone through this 'edge' recently.
Logged
DoctorBeaver
Naked Science Forum GOD!
12653
Activity:
0%
Thanked: 4 times
A stitch in time would have confused Einstein.
where is the edge of our solar system?
«
Reply #3 on:
13/06/2007 00:45:30 »
Dave - I remember reading something about that. Wasn't it an unexpected shape, or something like that? I didn't realise that was classed as the edge of the solar system though.
Logged
Raliel
Jr. Member
14
Activity:
0%
where is the edge of our solar system?
«
Reply #4 on:
13/06/2007 11:31:08 »
The Heliosheath is the actual boundary of the Solarsystem, a sort of wierd tidal ring of slow moving solar winds combined with gasses from outside the system
Logged
dentstudent
Naked Science Forum King!
3146
Activity:
0%
Thanked: 1 times
FOGger to the unsuspecting
where is the edge of our solar system?
«
Reply #5 on:
13/06/2007 12:00:22 »
Is it not the heliopause, the edge of the heliosheath? Or even the bow-shock as it's still related to the presence of the solar-wind?
Logged
Soul Surfer
Naked Science Forum King!
3389
Activity:
0%
Thanked: 8 times
keep banging the rocks together
where is the edge of our solar system?
«
Reply #6 on:
14/06/2007 10:07:09 »
There is one other border beyond those mentioned that is in theory clearly defined (but changes continuously) That is the gravitational border between the sun and our nearest neighbour stars. This is probably best defined as the point where an object that is stationary with respect to the sun would fall towards the sun by it's gravitational field as opposed to fall towards the other nearby star.
Logged
Learn, create, test and tell
evolution rules in all things
God says so!
edward2007
Guest
where is the edge of our solar system?
«
Reply #7 on:
14/06/2007 14:21:27 »
Have a look here:
http://www.answers.com/topic/heliopause
Scroll down to the picture.
Edward
Logged
Print
Pages: [
1
]
Go Up
« previous
next »
Tags:
There was an error while thanking
Thanking...