Fluffy Mystery at Edge of Solar System Solved
Our solar system is passing through a cloud of interstellar material that shouldn't be there, astronomers say. And now the decades-old Voyager spacecraft have helped solved the mystery.
The cloud is called the "Local Fluff." It's about 30 light-years wide and holds a wispy mix of hydrogen and helium atoms, according to a NASA statement released today. Stars that exploded nearby, about 10 million years ago, should have crushed the Fluff or blown it away.
So what's holding the Fluff in place?
"Using data from Voyager, we have discovered a strong magnetic field just outside the solar system," explained Merav Opher, a NASA Heliophysics Guest Investigator from George Mason University. "This magnetic field holds the interstellar cloud together ["The Fluff"] and solves the long-standing puzzle of how it can exist at all."
The Fluff is much more strongly magnetized than anyone had previously suspected," Opher said. "This magnetic field can provide the extra pressure required to resist destruction."
I have Local Fluff... in my pants!
ita, I'm so sorry about your cousin.
I'm sorry, ita. My sympathies to your family.
ita, I'm sorry about your cousin. That is very young.
And, yeah, there's almost always food or grease soaked in.
Yep, grease screws up the paper recyling process b/c they pretty much just shred it and make a slurry, AFAIK.
I think we have an actual garbage load maybe twice a month, and a lot of that is cat litter.
I think we have one bag a week or so, and cat litter is certainly a factor. Have I mentioned that I love my new roommate? B/c I love my new roommate.
In minor annoying news: I tried to bring some stuff to my parents' last weekend, but will still have two suitcases to shlep tomorrow. Not big or heavy, but still. It's a good thing two of my cousins won't be there.
Thanks, guys. It's going to be weird, picking up my sister from the airport in half an hour. I wonder if she'll have checked her email yet. I don't want to have to break the news to her.
I don't even know about the funeral--I don't have any time off, but I would really like to be there for her mother especially. She's lost so much, and she's such a good woman.
In much triter news, C Blucas, although I ain't mad at him. F Dacascos, who's suffering just because, dude, M Harmon. That smile. With extra crinkles.
