The Periodic Label

Heliosphere

A bubble in space produced by the solar wind. Although electrically neutral atoms from interstellar space can penetrate this bubble, virtually all of the material in the heliosphere emanates from the Sun itself. The solar wind streams away from the Sun in all directions in the Earth's vicinity. At some distance from the Sun, well beyond the orbit of Pluto, this supersonic wind must slow down to meet the gases in the interstellar medium, where it is turned in the direction of the ambient flow of the interstellar medium to form a comet-like tail behind the Sun. This subsonic flow region is called the heliosheath. The outer surface of the heliosheath, where the heliosphere meets the interstellar medium, is called the heliopause. Beyond the heliopause lies the bow shock, a region of space where the heliopause's interaction with the interstellar medium becomes more turbulent. Learn more about the Heliosphere on wikipedia.