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Glite Dictionary
heliosphere

heliosphere

2 9.9
The area around the Sun and planets where the Sun's wind meets space beyond the solar system
  • noun
  • /ˈhiːliəˌsfɪr/
  • Specialized
translation icon : heliosfera
  • We're going to the edge of the heliosphere, where the sun's magnetic field won't affect our instruments one bit.
  • the inner heliosphere
  • the boundaries of the heliosphere

The sun reaches out far beyond, and there you have the heliosphere.

Examples

  • NASA is urged to "assign high priority to the development of advanced propulsion and power technologies required for the exploration of the outer planets, inner and outer heliosphere, and local interstellar medium."

    Academic text (2002)

  • The sphere of influence I'm talking about is the Sun's magnetic bubble called the heliosphere.

    Blog text (1)

  • If that has actually happened, then it will be pushing back the heliosphere to

    Blog text (22)

  • And this means our heliosphere gets to shrink even more?

    Blog text (29)

  • The ribbon appears to be produced by the alignment of magnetic fields outside our heliosphere.

    Blog text (14)

  • These observations suggest that the interstellar environment has far more influence on structuring the heliosphere than anyone previously believed.

    Blog text (14)

  • The atmosphere and extended heliosphere above the surface are the sites of many amazing and poorly understood phenomena, including the greatest explosions in the Solar System.

    Academic text (1995)

  • Analyses of the first map, released last fall, suggest the ribbon is somehow ordered by the direction of the local interstellar magnetic field outside the heliosphere, influencing the structure of the heliosphere more than researchers had previously believed.

    Blog text (14)

  • Voyager 1 is at the very edge of the heliosphere, heading into interstellar space.

  • The heliosphere is a region of space containing hot ionized gases and magnetic fields from the Sun.

How Far

interstellar space
  • Specialized
4 6.0
heliopause
  • Specialized
1 9.9
heliosphere
  • Specialized
2 9.9
solar wind
  • Specialized
14 5.4
corona
  • Specialized
9 8.3
Sun
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

heliosphere singular
heliospheres plural

Morphology

heliosphere = sphere (semi-transparent) = helio + sphere

The prefix 'helio-' (sun) plus 'sphere' gives the idea of a sun-related region, but the precise scientific boundary and properties are technical and not deducible by all learners.

Etymology

The word heliosphere comes from the Greek helios 'sun' and sphere 'ball' or 'round area'. So, it means the Sun's own round space where the Sun's 'solar wind' pushes out until it meets the space from other stars.